■■  at^^f^ij^C!. 


New  York,  "D  Appl 


LIFE 


OF 


WILLIAM  T.  PORTER. 


FRANCIS    BRINLEY. 


NEW  YORK : 
APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

443    &   445    BKOADWAY. 

LONDON:    16   LITTLE  BRITAIN. 

M.DCCC.LX. 


Enteked,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1860, 

By   D.    APPLETON    &.   CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  OfiSce  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 

District  of  New  York. 


THE    FUIENDS    OF    WILLIAM    T.    POKTEE 


HIS    BKOTHERS, 


(injb  iolume 


IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED, 

BY 

FRANCIS    BRINLEY. 
Boston,  March  1.3,  1S60. 


ivii6922 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 


Ancestry  of  William  T.  Porter. — Samuel  Porter  of  England. — Colonel 
Asa  Porter,  graduate  of  Harvard  College. — Merchant  in  Newbury- 
port. — Marries  Mehitable  Crocker. — Removes  to  Haverhill,  N.  H. — 
His  estate  on  Connecticut  River. — The  Crocker  Family. — Gov.  Went- 
vrorth. — Colonel  Porter's  fondness  for  fine  horses. — ^Arthur  Liver- 
more.— Children  of  Colonel  Porter.— Judge  Farrand. — Thomas  W. 
Thompson. — Miles  Olcott.^ — Benjamin  Porter. — Governor  Peter  Olcott. 
Newbury,  Vt. — David  Johnson. — William  C.  Thompson. — William 
Trotter. — Letters  of  Benjamin  Porter,  father  of  William  T. — Daniel 
Webster. — Jasper  Murdock.— George  Blake. — Death  of  Benjamin 
Porter. — Rev.  Dr.  Shurtleth. — Dr.  Muzzey. — Death  of  Col.  Porter 
and  his  wife.— Description  of  Hanover,  N.  H. — Moore's  Indian 
Charity  School,  and  its  preceptor  A.  F.  Putnam. — William  T.  Porter 
a  pupil. — His  youthful  habits. — School  days. — William  reads  a  life 
of  Franklin,  and  resolves  to  be  a  printer. — Enters  an  office  at  An- 
dover,  Mass. — His  first  visit  to  Boston.^ — Death  of  his  mother. — Dr.  T. 
0.  Porter. — Judge  Perley. — Rufus  Choate. — Obituary  of  Hon.  Miles 
Olcott, 1 


CHAPTER   n. 

William  T.  Porter  commences  life  as  editor  of  "  The  Farmer's  Herald," 
St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.— Removes  to  Norwich,  Conn.,  and  edits  "  The 
Enquirer."— Goes  to  New  York.— Horace  Greeley. — Mr.  Porter  estab- 


VI  CONTENTS. 

lishes  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Times  "  in  1831. — Paper  so  named  by  his 
brother  Benjamin.— State  of  feeling  as  to  Sports  of  the  Turf.— Intro- 
duction of  racing  in  this  country.— John  Neal.— Maryland  and  South 
Carolina. — Prices  of  prime  horses. — Friends  of  the  Turf.— New  York 
Jockey  Club.— Mr.  Porter's  visit  to  the  South  and  West. — George 
Porter. — Origin  of  Mr.  Porter's  sobriquet,  "  York's  Tall  Son."  32 

CHAPTER   III. 

New  York  Jockey  Club. — Turf  Convention  proposed. — Argument  of  George 
Porter  on  a  betting  question. — Letter  of  Miles  Olcott. — "  The  Spirit 
of  the  Times,"  a  coveted  name. — Subscription  raised  from  five  to  ten 
dollars. — "  The  Turf  Register." — Race  of  Boston  and  Charles  Carter. — 
Letter  from  J.  S.  Skinner. — Description  of  the  early  members  of  the 
Turf  Register,  as  edited  by  Mr.  Porter.— Frank  Forester,  a  name 
suggested  by  George  Porter. — Cypress,  Jr.,  N.  of  Arkansas. — Eng- 
lish Sporting  periodicals. — Mr.  Porter  goes  South,  .  .        54 

CHAPTER   lY. 

"  The  Corsair"  published  by  Dr.  T.  0.  Porter  aud  N.  P.  Willis.- General 
Lamar. — He  ofi'ers  office  to  Dr.  Porter  in  Texas. — Letter  from  Daniel 
Webster. — Barclay  Street. — The  five  Brothers  Porter  established  in 
New  York. — "The  Doctor"  a  good  talker. — William  Porter's  idea  of 
editorial  qualifications. — His  clear  judgment. — His  generositj'. — Per- 
sonal appearance  of  the  Porters. — Frank  Monteverde's  in  Barclay 
Street.— The  house,  and  its  patrons  by  "  the  Juvenile," .  .        73 

CHAPTER   V. 
Report  of  the  Race  between  Wagner  and  Grey  Eagle  by  Mr.  Porter,     lol 

CHAPTER  YI. 

Raids  into  his  sanctum. — Death  of  Benjamin  Porter.— Numerous  accounts 
of  the  commissions  with  which  the  editor  was  loaded. — "Big  Bear" 
of  Arkansas. — Colonel  T.  B.  Thorpe.— Race  Between  Sarah  Bladen 
and  Luda,  and  between  Grey  Medoc,  Altorf,  and  Denizen. — Thorough- 
bred Colts  in  Kentucky.— Return  of  Robert  L.  Stevens  from  Europe.— 
Change  in  the  proprietorsliip  of  the  "  Spirit  of  (lie  Times."— John 
Richards,  "  The  Governor." — Profit  aud  Loss  account,  .  .      137 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   VII, 


Race  of  Boston  and  Fashion.— George  Porter  removes  to  New  Orleans, 
and  becomes  assistant  editor  of  the  Picayune. — Francis  T.  Porter. — 
He  joins  George  in  New  Orleans,  and  is  associated  with  the  Picayune's 
reports  of  races.— Letter  from  Hon.  Alexander  Porter. — Foot  races  of 
Gilderslceve  and  Greenholgh. — Remarks  on  them  by  N.  P.  Willis. — 
In  1845,  the  subscription  price  of  the  Spirit  reduced  from  ten  to  five 
dollars,  its  original  price. — Article  by  Mr.  Porter  in  support  of  the 
Turf.— Original  American  sketches  substituted  for  articles  from  British 
periodicals. — His  "  Curiosity  Shop."—"  Presentation  of  Plate  "  to  the 
editor. — Mr.  Porter  publishes  a  volume  of  sketches  taken  from  his 
paper,  and  edits  "  Hawker  on  Guns  and  Shooting." — New  York 
Yacht  Club. — Mr.  Blunt's  eloquence. — "  Theatrical  Fund  Associa- 
tion," recommended  by  Mr.  Porter.— Death  of  Judge  Duval.— Of 
John  Boardman — Of  Alexander  Porter — And  of  Henry  Inman.— 
Inman  Gallery.— Letters  of  Captain  W.  Seton  Henry,  during  the 
Mexican  War,  .......      150 


CHAPTER  VIIL 
Angling,    .........      211 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Foreign  circulation  of  the  Spirit. — Mr.  Porter  visits  Boston.— Dinner 
given  him  at  the  Norfolk  House.^First  symptoms  of  gout. — Death  of 
George  Porter  in  New  Orleans. — Letter  from  Professor  Brown,  of 
Dartmouth  College,  in  regard  to  George. — Notices  of  his  death. — 
Death  of  Dr.  Porter. — Obituary  by  Herbert. — Death  of  Frank  Porter 
in  New  Orleans.— His  letters.— Character.— His  visit  to  Europe. — 
The  effect  of  Frank's  death  on  William  Porter. — His  salutatory  in 
1856. — Leaves  the  "  Old  Spirit,"  and  starts  "  Porter's  Spirit  of  the 
Times,"  with  George  Wilkes,  Esq. — Its  great  success. — Mr.  Porter's 
impaired  health.— His  death,  July  (^  1858.— General  expression  of 
sorrow.- Obituaries  by  "  Acorn."- James  Oakes,  Esq.,  of  Boston. — 
By  George  Wilkes,  Esq.— Stanzas  to  his  memory  by  R.  S.  Chilton, 
Esq.,  of  Washington.— Motive  of  the  author  in  preparing  this 
volume,         ........      245 


LIFE  OF  WILLIAM  T.  PORTEE. 


CHAPTEE   I. 


William  Trottek  Pok- 
TEE,"^'  third  son  of  Benjamin 
Porter  and  Martha  Olcott, 
born  in  l!^ewbury,  Yer- 
mont,  December  24,  1809, 
was  of  the  eighth  genera- 
tion from  Samuel  Porter, 
who  emigrated  with  his  wife 
from  the  west  of  England 
to  Plymouth  in  1622.  Asa 
Porter,  grandfather  of  William,  was  born  May  26, 
1T42,  and  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1762. 
He  established  himself  as  a  merchant  at  Kewbury- 
port,  where  he  married  Mehitable,  daughter  of  John 


*  Arms  of  Porter. — Per  Chevron  sa.  and  ar.  Three  church-bells 
countcrchanged,  each  charged  with  an  ermine-spot,  also  counter- 
changed.  Crest,  an  antelope's  head,  erased  ar.,  attired  or.,  collared 
gu.,  therefrom  on  the  centre  of  the  neck,  a  bell  pendant,  sa.  charged 
with  an  ermine-spot  ar. 
1 


2  LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER, 

Crocker,  Esq.*  Tlie  love  of  adventure,  and  the  restless 
activity  of  the  men  of  those  days  in  plans  for  better- 
ing their  condition,  induced  many  of  the  inhabitants 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Newburyport  to 
seek  new  homes  and  larger  possessions  in  the  Coos 
Country,  wdiicli  was  even  then  celebrated  for  the  fer- 
tility of  its  vast  meadows  and  the  richness  of  its  grand 
intervals.  Col.  Porter  yielded  to  the  impulse,  and 
some  time  prior  to  1780,  removed  to  Haverhill,  IST.  H., 
having  purchased  a  valuable  tract  of  land  near  the 
Little  Oxbow,  on  the  Eastern  bank  of  the  Connecti- 
cut River,  where,  upon  one  of  its  fairest  and  most 
graceful  sweeps,  which  his  trained  eye  selected  as  a 
spot  susceptible  of  attractive  ornament  and  profitable 
culture,  he  built  a  durable  and  ample  mansion,  that 

*  He  was  a  direct  descendaut  from  William  Crocker,  who  came 
from  England  to  this  country  about  1630.  John  Crocker  was  remark- 
able for  his  fine  form  and  manly  beauty,  as  well  as  for  great  moral  purity 
of  life  and  character.  He  was  "  nimble  and  blithe  as  a  child,  and  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death,  without  the  stoop  of  age  ;  everybody  loved 
him."  Mary,  his  wife,  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Savage,  whose 
father  (H.  C.  1659)  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Edward 
Tyng,  May  8,  1661.  Of  the  other  daughters  of  Mr.  Tyng,  Mary  mar- 
ried Gov.  Searl,  of  Barbadoes  ;  Rebecca  married  Gov.  Joseph  Dudley, 
of  Massachusetts ;  and  Eunice  married  the  Rev.  Samuel  Willard,  Presi- 
dent of  Harvard  College. 

The  Crockers  are  descended  from  Sir  John  Crocker,  Knight,  cup- 
bearer to  Edward  IV.,  who  was  from  a  branch  of  the  house  of  Crocker, 
of  Lyncham,  in  the  County  of  Devon  ;  a  name  so  eminent  that  there  is 
an  old  proverbial  distich,  or  as  Prince  calls,  an  old  saw,  recording  its 
antiquity : 

"  Crocker,  Cruwys,  and  Coplestone, 
When  the  Conqueror  came,  were  at  home." 

Worthies  of  Devon,  p.  274 


LIFE    OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEE.  6 

to  this  day  commands  the  admiration  of  the  traveller. 
His  removal  to  a  comparatively  remote  and  unsettled 
part  of  the  country,  which,  no  later  than  1754,  the 
Legislature  of  Xew  Hampshire  designated  as  a  region 
"  hitherto  unknown,"  would  of  itself  establish  his 
character  for  vigorous  enterprise. 

Here  amidst  magnihcent  scenery,  grew  up  a  well- 
trained  and  intellectual  family,  whose  home  was  the 
favorite  resort  of  the  cultivated  and  refined.  Col. 
Porter  was  a  model  of  affability  and  dignity  ;  never 
laying  aside  the  garb  or  the  deportment  of  a  gentle- 
man of  the  old  school,  but  always  preserving  his 
courtly  air  and  address  without  sacrificing  a  particle 
of  his  self-reliant  energy  and  fearlessness.  He  is 
described  by  one,  who  remembers  him,  as  "  slow  to 
anger,  of  a  forgiving  disposition  and  kind  to  the  poor. 
In  civility  and  politeness  excelled  by  none."  In  reli- 
gion he  was  an  Episcopalian,  in  politics  a  Royalist, 
and  as  he  wrote  to  Lord  Dorchester,  "  severely  felt 
the  resentment  of  that  part  of  his  countrymen  which 
then  prevailed,  and  suffered  greatly  in  his  person  and 
property ; "  in  consideration  of  which  he  received 
from  the  Crown  a  grant  of  the  township  of  Broome, 
in  Canada.  Indeed,  his  landed  estate  was  immense, 
and  has  been  estimated  as  high  as  one  hundred  thou- 
sand acres.  At  one  time  he  owned  a  large  part  of 
Topsham,  Yermont,  and  extensive  tracts  in  neighbor- 
ing towns.  He  claimed,  also,  the  town  of  Woodstock, 
Yermont,  and  was  offered  a  crown  ($1.10)  per  acre, 
to  compromise  his  claim ;  but  with  characteristic 
tenacity  of  purpose,  he  refused  the  offer,  and  held  to 


4  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

his  title  until  it  was  ultimately  decided  against  liim. 
Most  of  the  lands  of  New  Hampshire  and  Yermont, 
about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  and  somewhat 
later,  were  held  by  the  Crown,  and  grants  were  made 
to  individuals ;  though  nominally  made  by  the  Crown, 
in  many  cases,  the  names  of  the  grantees  were  inserted 
by  the  Governor.  Col.  Porter  frequently  had  a  direct 
interest  in  such  grants  ;  but  more  commonly,  he  pur- 
chased the  rights  of  the  grantees  for  a  small  consid- 
eration. One  of  the  provisions  of  these  grants  was, 
that  five  hundred  acres  in  each  township  were  re- 
served to  the  Governor.  Col.  Porter  became  the 
owner  of  many  of  these  tracts,  called  the  "  Governor's 
Rights,"  and  sometimes,  "  Governor's  Corners."  As 
an  illustration  of  his  persevering  enterprise  it  may  be 
stated  that  to  fulfil  a  contract  with  the  British  Govern- 
ment for  building  a  bridge  at  Quebec,  he  accompanied 
liis  men  on  foot  from  Haverhill  to  that  city.  He  did 
not  look  like  one  capable  of  the  efi'ort,  but  he  had 
hardened  himself  by  keeping  up  the  habits  of  gentle- 
men of  that  time,  who  accustomed  themselves  to 
robust  exercise,  and  he  was  therefore  able  to  accom- 
plish an  undertaking  apparently  much  beyond  Ihs 
strength,  without  serious  inconvenience.  Pride  and 
policy  may  have  stimulated  him  to  encounter  the 
fatigue  of  this  journey  on  foot,  since,  according  to  a 
French  proverb,  "  II  est  aise  d'aller  a  pied  quand  on 
tient  son  cheval  par  la  bride ;"  and  though  he  had  a 
select  stable,  he  preferred  to  walk  on  the  occasion  as 
an  encouragement  to  his  men. 

In  truth  his  passion  for  fine  liorses  was  not  inferior 


LIFE    OF   WILLIAJSI   T.    POKTER,  O 

to  his  ambition  for  ample  fields.  He  spared  no  pains 
in  purchasing  blood  of  pure  strain.  Some  of  his  best 
stock  was  obtained  of  his  friend  Gov.  Wentworth, 
that  rare  sportsman  and  accomplished  gentleman,  who 
did  much  to  improve  the  breed  of  horses  in  New 
Hampshire,  at  his  princely  establishment  at  Wolfs- 
borough,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Winnipiseogee. 

Though  Col.  Porter  was  a  devoted  Eoyalist,  he 
did  not  inherit  that  faith,  his  father  being  a  zealous 
Whig.  There  is  an  amusing  testimony  to  the  fact  in 
the  records  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, as  it  seems  that  the  son  was  apprehended  on 
suspicion  of  Toryism  about  the  year  1777,  and  dis- 
charged from  arrest  on  giving  bond  in  the  sum  of 
£500  that  he  would  repair  forthwith  to  his  father  in 
Boxford,  and  not  depart  from  his  farm  for  the  term 
of  one  year,  except  to  attend  divine  service  on  the 
Lord's  day.  The  Committee  may  have  been  over- 
zealous  ;  at  any  rate  he  was  ever  faithful  and  loyal  to 
the  new  government,  under  whose  protection  he  lived 
and  prospered  for  so  many  years. 

It  is  a  family  tradition  that  during  the  revolution 
business  obliged  him  to  visit  Boston.  He  set  off  in 
his  own  sleigh,  which  had  the  arms  of  England  em- 
blazoned upon  the  back.  As  he  drove  into  town,  he 
was  surprised  to  find  his  sleigh  an  obnoxious  mark 
of  attraction ;  while  vociferous  threats  soon  warned 
him  of  the  cause  of  the  unexpected  hostility.  At  first 
he  was  inclined  to  pay  no  other  heed  to  it  than  start- 
ing up  his  horses  a  little ;  but  multiplied  volleys  of 
missiles  and  of  words  admonished  him  to  take  counsel 


6  LIFE   OF   WILLIAjyi    T.    PORTEK. 

of  his  discretion,  and  he  stopped  at  a  painter's  shop 
and  had  the  obnoxious  blazonry  effaced.  On  his  re- 
turn home,  his  wife  was  at  the  door  to  welcome  him. 
She  soon  perceived  the  discoloration  of  the  back  of 
the  sleigh,  and  with  ready  intuition  divined  the 
cause.  She  was  of  remarkable  spirit,  and  entered 
into  the  political  faith  of  her  husband  with  all  the 
animation  of  her  character.  She  ordered  her  women 
to  bring  soap  and  brushes,  and  without  a  thought  of 
the  cold  air,  or  too  tender  regard  for  her  own  fair 
hands,  she  picked  her  way  on  her  little  high-heels  to 
the  sleigh,  and  never  stopped  scrubbing  until  the  old 
Lion  and  the  Unicorn  reappeared  "  fighting  for  the 
crown,"  as  fresh  as  on  the  day  they  parted  from  her 
loyal  eyes. 

Arthur  Livermore,  Esq.,*  now  of  Missouri,  in 
writing  of  Col.  Porter  to  Mrs.  Brinley,  says :  "  He 
was  beyond  dispute  a  man  of  a  good  deal  of  charac- 
ter. I  hardly  know  whether  I  can  with  propriety  say 
to  you,  his  descendant,  wdiat  I  have  very  often  said 
to  those  who  have  known  you  all  as  I  have  known 
you  ;  that  Col.  Porter  has  given  this  proof  of  having 
been  thoroughbred^  as  we  say  of  a  horse,  that  he  im- 
pressed upon  all  his  posterity,  through  several  gen- 
erations,  verv  remarkable    common   characteristics ; 


*  Son  of  Judge  Arthur  Livermore,  and  grandson  of  the  eminent 
Judge  Samuel  Livermore.  The  latter  went  to  New  Hampshire  simul- 
taneously with  Col.  Porter,  and  purchased  an  estate  at  Ilolderness, 
where,  amidst  the  most  romantic  lake  scenery,  he  built  a  mansion- 
house,  which  would  be  conspicuous  for  stateliness  even  in  these  days 
of  ambitious  architecture. 


LIFE   OF   \VILLIA]\I   T.    POETEK.  7 

marks  that  distinguish  them  from  all  others.  This  is 
said  neither  in  the  way  of  flattery  nor  disparagement, 
nor  with  any  purpose  to  be  personal.  He  was  from 
all  accounts  a  gentleman.  His  associations  were  with 
such.  His  daughters  married  gentlemen,  and  his 
sons,  gentlewomen.  In  person  he  has  been  described 
to  me  as  a  spare  man,  and  to  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  wearing  a  good  overcoat  of  sable  skins  on  one  side 
and  scarlet  cloth  on  the  other.  He  was  accustomed 
to  say  that  it  was  a  foolish  thing  to  try  to  brave  the 
cold.  The  right  way  was  to  guard  well  against  it  by 
abundant  clothing." 

By  his  marriage  Col.  Porter  had  six  children, 
John,  Benjamin,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Sarah,  and  Moses. 
The  daughters  were  brilliant  and  accomplished 
women,  receiving  their  education  at  Kewburyport 
and  Boston. 

The  Judicial  Courts  for  the  northern  part  of  New 
Hampshire  were  held  at  Haverhill  Corner,  about 
seven  miles  south  of  Col.  Porter's,  and  the  attrac- 
tions of  his  daughters,  his  generous  hospitality  and 
reputed  wealth,  brought  the  members  of  the  bar 
lo  his  house  in  goodly  numbers ;  some  of  them 
prosecuted  their  suits  with  success,  for  the  three 
daughters  married  gentlemen  of  the  legal  profes- 
sion ;  Mary,  the  Hon.  Judge  Farrand ;  Elizabeth, 
the  Hon.  Thomas  W.  Thompson ;  and  Sarah,  the  Hon. 
Mills  Olcott. 

Col.  Porter's  son  Benjamin,  so  named  for  his  an- 
cestor, Benjamin  Crocker,  Esq.,  was  born  at  New- 
buryport,  July  13,  1771,  and  on  the  11th  of  October, 


8  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE. 

1800,  Avas  married  to  Martha,  daughter  of  Gov.  Peter 
Olcott,*  of  Korwich,  Vt.,  and  established  himself  in 
the  law  at  ISTewbnrj^,  in  that  State. 

The  town  of  Newbiny  occnj^ies  a  natural  terrace 
above  the  broad,  rich  sweej)  of  the  meadows,  flanked 
on  the  westerly  side  bj  a  high,  wooded,  almost  per- 
pendicular ridge  called  Mt.  Pulaski,  which,  in  that 
direction,  serves  to  the  village  as  a  kind  of  dbat-vent 
to  keep  off  the  keen  blasts  of  the  early  spring.  Tow- 
ards the  other  points  of  compass,  the  horizon 
widens  into  great  beauty  and  grandeur,  embracing 
a  chain  of  hills  forming  the  lower  elevations  of  the 
White  Mountains,  which  can  be  traced  from  the  top 
of  Mt.  Pulaski,  in  all  their  diversity  of  shape  and 
coloring,  until  they  unite  with  Mts.  Washington  and 
Lafayette  ;  the  pale,  spectral  pinnacles  of  those  thaw- 
less  snow-peaks  being  clearly  discerned  from  ISTew- 
bury  as  sharply  cut  against  the  sky  as  on  the  day 
I^oah  removed  the  covering  from  the  ark.  Towards 
the  south  the  prospect  lies  open  •  to  a  length  of  the 
Connecticut  Yalley,  "  the  asylum  of  love  and  philoso- 
phy," as  well  as  of  labor  and  comfort ;  its  velvet  car- 
pets of  greensward  dotted  over  with  groups  of  majes- 
tic trees  and  grazing  cattle,  hemmed  in  by  the  naked 
crests  of  New  Hampshire  and  the  undulating  ranges 
of  the  Green  Mountains,  and  apparently  terminating 

*  Gov.  Olcott  was  of  the  sixth  generation  in  descent  from  Thomas 
Olcott,  a  merchant  in  London,  who  emigrated  with  his  wife,  a  daughter 
of  David  Porter,  Esq.,  of  that  city,  to  Connecticut.  He  brought  with 
him  the  experience  and  fruits  of  successful  enterprise,  and  was  one  of 
•lie  founders  of  the  commerce  of  that  Colony. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETER.  \) 

at  the  foot  of  Ascutney,  which  stands  out  against  the 
southern  sky  like  the  fragmentary  w^alls  of  some  colos- 
sal barrier,  to  guard  it  from  the  outer  world  ;  its 
loftiest  points  kindling  into  spires  of  gold,  while  the 
soft  gray  shadows  of  night  are  yet  lying  upon  the 
valley. 

Here,  among  these  meadows,  blue  hills,  and  wide 
sky,  the  lives  of  William  T.  Porter  and  his  brothers 
took  their  shape  and  coloring.  Their  home  included 
the  firesides  of  father  and  grandfather,  so  closely  were 
they  united  by  the  tenderest  of  ties,  both  marked  by 
the  same  unaffected  tone  of  polite  life,  enlarged  hospi- 
tality, love  of  out-of-door  existence,  and  study  of  the 
best  authors.  Benjamin  Porter,  their  father,  was  a 
man  of  vigorous  stamp.  A  keen  observer,  a  sound 
lawyer,  active  and  energetic  in  his  practice,  with  con- 
tinual opportunities,  even  in  that  retired  portion  of 
the  country,  for  the  display  of  acumen  and  learning 
in  disentangling  the  legal  perplexities,  and  conduct- 
ing the  controversies  in  which  his  father  had  neces- 
sarily become  involved  during  a  long  and  busy  life  in 
a  community  where  land  titles  were  undetermined, 
and  the  conflicting  claims  of  settlers,  tenants,  and 
proprietors  were  the  subjects  of  frequent  and  pro- 
tracted litigation.  Indeed,  his  large-heartedness,  popu- 
lar manners,  and  strict  integrity  secured  the  friendship 
of  numerous  clients  at  home  and  abroad,  and  the  con* 
fidence  of  all  who  were  brought  within  the  range  of 
his  manly  influence.  "  He  was  about  the  same  height 
as  his  father,"  writes  one  of  his  neighbors,  David 
Johnson,  Esq.,  still  living  at  the  advanced  age  of 
1* 


10  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM  T.    POETEK. 

eighty-two,  "  but  more  fleshy  and  of  a  larger  frame, 
and  was  what  may  be  called  a  handsome,  well-built 
man,  more  familiar  in  his  habits  and  intercourse  with 
his  neighbors  than  his  father.  A  very  active  busi- 
ness man,  benevolent,  free,  and  oj^en  hearted.  He 
had  a  very  charming,  lovely,  and  amiable  wife." 

Wm.  C.  Thompson,  Esq.,  a  nephew  of  Mr.  Porter, 
thus  writes  of  his  uncle's  appearance  when  in  the 
prime  of  life  :  "  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Porter  were  very 
handsome  persons ;  more  so  than  either  of  their  chil- 
dren, and  this  is  saying  much.  Mr.  Porter's  form  was 
like  his  son  Ben's,  but  taller,  more  active,  and  muscu- 
lar. He  had  a  round,  frank  voice,  and,  as  I  remember 
him  when  I  was  a  boy,  was  particularly  pleasant  and 
kind  to  children.  He  lived  in  a  liberal  and  hospitable 
style,  inheriting  his  father's  tastes  for  owning  lands, 
and  farms,  and  capital  horses."  Mrs.  Porter  was 
a  beautiful  and  attractive  woman,  remarkable  for 
her  dignity  of  character  and  ease  of  manners.  She 
had  irrepressible  buoyancy  of  temper,  united  to  the 
kindest  sympathies,  and  a  goodness  that  lives  in 
the  hearts  of  many  to  this  late  day,  who  never 
speak  of  her  but  with  tears  of  reverence  and  grateful 
love. 

To  fit  his  children  for  the  ends  and  aims  of  life, 
Mr.  Porter  employed  judicious  teachers  of  both  sexes 
under  his  own  roof,  until  they  were  old  enough  to  be 
sent  from  home  to  school,  and  at  every  opportunity 
of  leisure  from  the  exactions  of  professional  labor, 
gave  them  his  personal  instruction.  About  this  time, 
1812,  William  was  taking  his  first  lessons  in  spelling, 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  11 

under  the  paternal  roof,  from  one  of  the  most  amiable 
of  teachers,  who  afterwards  married  William  Trotter, 
Esq.,  an  especial  friend  of  Mr.  Porter,  and  for  whom 
he  named  his  son.* 

Mr.  Porter  was  a  capital  horseman,  and  was  every 
day  more  or  less  in  the  saddle  as  his  engagements 
would  permit. 

In  early  life  he  was  in  the  habit  of  making  long 
journeys  on  horseback,  as  was  the  fashion  of  the  day, 
starting  off  for  Quebec,  Boston,  or  New  York,  with 
less  bustle  of  preparation  than  in  these  days  of  rapid 
locomotion,  although  the  time  occupied  in  one  of  those 
old-fashioned  horseback  expeditions  seems  now  almost 
incredible.  In  one  of  his  letters  dated  Newbury,  Dec. 
3,  1798,  addressed  to  his  sister  Sarah,  then  at  school 
in  Boston,  he  writes :  "  To  have  spent  the  evening  of 
my  return  home,  after  a  seventeen  days'  journey,  in 
the  society  of  my  dear  sister,  would,  to  say  the  least, 
have  been  happier  than  some  hours  of  the  way.  My 
route  mostly  by  water  to  Quebec,  was  as  rapid  as  I 
could  have  desired,  but  my  journey  home  was  as  in- 
clement as  the  season.  Not  an  inch  without  pain, 
not  a  step  without  a  groan.  Thus  for  two  successive 
winters  I  have  made  this  journey  (expeditions  of  little 
moment  at  a  moderate  season),  when  hardly  a  human 

*  She  is  still  living  to  recall  with  melancholy  interest  those  days  of 
childhood  at  Newbury,  She  assures  us  that  William's  desire  to  make 
a  figure  in  life  was  in  him  from  the  start,  for  when  playfully  asked,  be- 
fore he  could  speak  plain,  what  profession  he  intended  to  adorn  when 
he  became  a  man,  he  invariably  replied,  drawing  himself  up  with  dig- 
nity, "  I  intend  to  preach  to  make  the  peoples  dood." 


12  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POUTER. 

beino-  could  stir  from  the  fireside  from  the  severity 
of  the  weather." 

In  the  following  allusion  to  one  of  his  female 
friends  at  Quebec,  in  the  same  letter,  we  get  at  the 
whole  heart  of  the  man  :  "  The  specimen  of  your 
painting,  dear  S.,  so  long  promised  to  my  friend  Mrs. 
W.,  could  hardly  be  dispensed  with,  considering  the 
long  friendship  and  thousand  civilities  to  Papa  and 
myself.  I  could  only  renew  the  promise  that  my  next 
visit  should  bear  it  to  her.  Pardon  me,  ye  belles  of 
Quebec,  if  I  felt  more  regret  at  leaving  this  good, 
old,  sensible,  thoroughbred,  Christian,  New  England 
woman  than  all  the  tine  faces  your  town  can  boast ; 
and  were  I  for  the  example  of  some  darling  fiivor- 
ite  of  your  sex  to  describe  the  good  wife  and 
agreeable  friend,  my  pen  would  point  involuntarily  to 
Mrs.  W." 

He  closes  his  letter  with  some  wholesome  advice, 
which  is  quite  as  pertinent  in  these  days  of  ultra  re- 
finement in  the  education  of  the  daughters  of  the 
land  as  at  the  time  he  wrote  :  "  Col.  W.  tells  me  that 
his  daughter  already  speaks  very  good  French.  This 
is  all.  very  well  for  Miss  W.,  as  she  is  to  reside  in 
town.  But  I  declare,  dear  S.,  I  do  not  believe  it  will 
be  ever  asked  of  a  girl  who  lives  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  from  salt  water,  and  who  reads  with  pro- 
priety, spells  correctly,  writes  handsomely,  and  com- 
poses easily  and  elegantly  in  good  old  English,  whether 
she  pronounces  French  a  la  mode.  There  are  in 
my  humble  opinion  many  other  both  mental  and 
personal  accomplishments,  together  with  a  long  list 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  13 

of  domestic  attainments,  much  more  necessary  in  a 
fine  woman's  education,  although  in  that  of  a  gentle- 
man it  is  quite  indispensable.  I  abhor  French  senti- 
ments and  the  hideous  tone  of  French  novels ;  but  I 
love  the  language,  and  am  far  from  wishing  with  ^Y. 
that  every  French  fop  in  this  country  should  starve 
because  he  can  do  nothing  better  than  lisp  his  mother 
tongue." 

In  connection  with  Mr.  Porter's  journeys  to  Cana 
da  in  the  saddle,  we  are  reminded  of  several  in  which 
he  was  accompanied  by  Daniel  Webster,  while  the 
latter  was  a  law  student  with  Mr.  Thompson,  (brother- 
in-law  of  Mr.  Porter,)  at  Salisbury,  In  1801-2,  Mr. 
Thompson  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Webster  to 
Newbury  upon  the  occasion  of  one  of  the  former's 
visits  at  Mr.  Porter's  house.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Porter  became  very  fond  of  him,  and  perhaps  among 
the  many  pleasant  recollections  of  Mr.  Webster's 
early  manhood  which  served  as  an  animating  relief 
from  his  first  struggles,  and  afterwards  from  the  toil 
of  a  crowded  professional  life,  none  were  recalled  with 
keener  pleasure  than  his  visits  to  old  Cods  during  the 
ten  years  following  his  first  introduction.  In  anti- 
cipation of  their  recurrence,  Mr.  Porter  arranged 
several  horseback  journeys  to  Canada,  in  which  Mr. 
Webster  was  to  participate,  and  sometimes  as  his  sole 
companion.  The  pleasure  they  derived  from  the 
social  qualities  of  each  other,  can  be  readily  imagined 
by  those  who  knew  and  loved  them  both.  The  ripe 
and  instructed  mind  of  the  elder  friend  kept  charmed 
and  amused  by  the  originality  and  buoyant  vivacity 


14  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

of  that  great  mind  which  was  destined  to  give  light 
to  a  nation  long  after  the  other  had  sunk  to  his  rest. 
In  the  later  years  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Webster  he  stated 
to  us  with   marked  emphasis  and  feeling,  that  Mr. 
Porter  was  the  most  attractive   social  companion  he 
had  ever  known.     It  was  during  his  visits  at  Mr. 
Porter's  house  that  the  foundation  of  a  friendship  was 
laid  which  became  a  source  of  life-long  enjoyment  to 
Mr.  Webster.     The  youthful  object  of  his  regard  was 
the  orphan  niece  of  Mrs.  Porter,  the  only  child  of  her 
sister,  Sarah  Olcott,  and  the  Hon.  Jasper  Murdock. 
Upon  the  death  of  her  parents  she  was  consigned  to 
the   care  of  her  grandfather,  Gov.  Olcott.     At   the 
time  of  Mrs.  Porter's  marriage  she  transplanted  the 
beautiful  exotic  of  her  family  to  her  own  fireside,  and 
scrupulously  provided   that   she   should    acquire   at 
home    and    abroad   those    accomplishments    which, 
united  to  her  eminent  personal  charms,  qualified  her 
to  grace  and  adorn  her  own  distinguished  home  upon 
the  event  of  her  marriage,  June  25,  1810,  to  Hon. 
George  Blake,  of  Boston.     Many  of  Mr.  Webster's 
most  interesting  letters  during  his  early  public  career, 
w^ere  addressed  to  her,  and  are  contained  in  the  vol- 
umes of  his  correspondence.     She  died  in  the  prime 
of  her  days,  a  few  months  following  the  death  of  her 
adopted  mother. 

During  the  summer  of  1817,  Mr.  Porter  first  be- 
came aware  of  an  incipient  afiTection  of  the  heart, 
though  only  a  few  weeks  previous  to  the  approach 
of  any  symptoms  of  the  kind  he  said  to  a  friend: 
"I  am  certain  I  shall  live  to  a  great  age.     Look 


LIFE    OF    WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  15 

at   my  breadth  of  cliest.     I  feel  long  life  in  every 
muscle." 

Pliysicians  were  consulted  at  the  first  apprehen- 
sion, and  by  their  advice  he  gave  up  all  business,  and 
retired  with  his  family  to  one  of  his  farms,  where  he 
kept  up  his  almost  daily  exercise  in  the  saddle,  until 
his  increasing  infirmities  obliged  him  to  discontinue  it 
altogether.  He  was  finally  induced  in  the  following 
summer  to  try  the  efi'ect  of  a  journey  to  Saratoga, 
where  a  consultation  of  eminent  physicians  was  held 
upon  his  case.  Previous  to  the  consultation  his  letters 
evince  a  sanguine  hope  of  ultimate  restoration. 

Alas !  it  was  not  to  be.  The  decision  of  the 
physicians  was  unfavorable  to  his  hopes,  and  by 
slow  and  painful  progress,  accompanied  by  his 
wife  and  son  Benjamin,  he  reached  Mr.  Olcott's  at 
Hanover.  It  was  impossible  to  go  any  further.  Day 
by  day  he  became  weaker,  until  all  expectation  of 
recovery  was  abandoned,  and  his  parents  and  intimate 
friends  were  summoned  to  see  him  die.  The  event 
took  place  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Sunday, 
August  2d,  1818.  His  clergyman,  the  venerable  Dr. 
Shurtleft',  of  Hanover,  and  Dr.  Muzzey,  his  physician, 
both  still  living  in  honorable  age,  testify  to  the  forti- 
tude of  the  dying  man.  Dr.  Shurtleff  has  within  a 
short  time  described  to  us  the  closing  scene,  which  in 
solemnity,  calm  resignation,  and  tender  solicitude  for 
the  family  of  his  love,  he  had  never,  in  his  lengthened 
experience,  seen  surpassed. 

He  sleeps  in  the  quiet  church-yard  at  Hanover,  in 
compliance  with  his  expressed  wish,  as  he  foresaw, 


16  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK. 

that  to  give  his  eldest  son,  then  in  college,  the  benefit 
of  a  home,  to  secure  to  his  other  children  the  advan- 
tage of  academic  training,  and  at  the  same  time  place 
Mrs.  Porter  where  she  could  have  the  immediate 
counsel  and  protection  of  her  brother,  Mr.  Olcott,  she 
would  almost  of  necessity  select  Hanover  for  her  resi- 
dence after  the  death  of  his  parents.  Three  months 
after  his  death,  his  father  died.  In  a  worldly 
view  the  death  of  father  and  son,  so  near  to  each 
other,  was  most  deeply  to  be  deplored.  The  former 
died  in  the  belief  that  he  had  great  wealth ;  but 
much  of  his  really  extensive  estate  consisted  in 
unproductive  tracts  of  land  not  readily  convertible 
into  money  or  easily  managed.  The  son  had  stepped 
aside  from  his  profession  to  embark  in  various 
enterprises  of  pith  and  high  promise,  which  his 
sudden  and  long-continued  bodily  prostration  obliged 
him  to  surrender  or  neglect.  His  large  expecta- 
tions seemed  to  warrant  his  extended  operations,  and 
if  five  years  more  of  active  life  had  been  vouch- 
safed to  him,  and  the  estate  of  his  father  been  kept 
together,  his  sons,  who  derived  little  or  no  benefit 
from  the  vast  landed  property  of  their  grandfather, 
would  have  been  rich  and  independent,  and  spared 
the  crushing  weight  of  narrow  circumstances  and  dis- 
appointed hopes. 

"  During  the  summer  of  1821,"  writes  Mrs.  Brinley, 
the  youngest  daughter  of  Mr.  Porter,  "  my  mother 
removed  to  Hanover,  having  jjurchased  a  pic- 
turesque old  residence  Mdiich  occupied  the  highest 
site   in   the   village,   a  few    steps  from    where    the 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  lY 

present  observatory  stands.  It  was  a  large,  faded, 
tranquil-looking,  one  story  house,  covering  a  good 
deal  of  ground,  of  no  special  color,  but  mellow  with 
the  lapse  of  time  and  changing  seasons,  and  had  been 
originally  built  for  one  of  the  presidents  of  the  col- 
lege. The  prospect  which  it  commanded  on  every 
side  was  of  wide-spread  character,  full  of  variety  and 
heavenly  beauty.  Even  as  children  we  were  never 
tired  of  looking  at  the  distant  blue  line  of  sky,  the 
far-off  mountains  in  the  north,  the  long,  low  ridge  of 
jagged  rocky  hills  in  the  rear,  and  the  great  purple 
and  gold  summits  of  Ascutney,  now  almost  within 
arm's  length,  which  we  believed  to  be  a  celestial 
highway  to  the  battlements  of  God's  home.  Directly 
opposite  to  ns,  across  the  rivei*,  were  our  own  beloved 
hills  of  Vermont,  the  hills  of  our  birthright,  the  hills 
of  the  setting  sun,  piled  up  into  the  vast  heavens,  with 
all  their  pastures,  forests,  brooks,  clouds,  and  busy 
human  life. 

"The  village  of  Hanover  was  just  below  us,  fresh, 
compact,  and  shining  as  a  mosaic,  with  its  venerable 
college,  solemn  old  church,  and  clusters  of  white  dwell- 
ings in  a  square  setting  of  young  elm  trees,  which  lent 
a  grateful  shade  to  the  romantic  footpaths  round  the 
common.  A  little  removed  from  the  village  on  the 
westerly  side,  a  narrow,  beautifully  shaded  avenue  led 
gently  to  the  common  burying-ground.  It  was  of  the 
genuine  New  England  pilgrim  stamp  ;  its  monumen- 
tal tombs  and  graves  abandoned  to  weeds  and  nettles 
and  relentless  gloom,  inclosed  by  a  plain  board  fence 
stained  with  the  damps  and  moulds  of  time,  hemmed 


18  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK. 

in  and  choked  up  by  the  high  grass,  rank  shrubs,  and 
matted  ivy  which  trailed  over  it.  A  few  stunted 
trees  were  scattered  here  and  there,  bnt  shrivelled 
into  lifeless  skeletons,  as  if  unable  to  resist  the  inex- 
orable destiny  written  all  about  them.  The  situa- 
tion of  the  old  burial  place,  however,  was  beautiful, 
upon  the  verge  of  a  deep  gorge  between  two  hills 
lined  with  a  thick  growth  of  young  forest  trees  ;  over- 
looking the  gently  swelling  valley,  the  winding  river, 
and  the  purple  masses  of  surrounding  hill.  At  this 
day  the  spot  has  participated  in  the  general  spirit  of 
improvement  of  burial  places  throughout  New  Eng- 
land, and  is  not  only  '  embosomed  soft  in  trees,'  but 
includes  within  its  limits  the  wooded  gorge  which 
already  enshrines  within  its  shaded  depths  the  sleep- 
ing dust  of  inestimable  worth  and  virtue. 

"  On  my  mother's  arrival  at  Hanover,  no  time  was 
lost  in  placing  her  four  youngest  children,  William, 
George,  Frank,  and  myself,  at  the  prominent  school 
of  the  town,  which  was  then  connected  with  Dart- 
mouth College,  the  President  of  the  College  being  ex 
officio  President  of  the  Academy.  This  school  was 
originally  established  for  the  education  of  Indian 
youths,  and  the  corporate  name  was  '  Moore's  Indian 
Charity  School,'  but  for  many  years  it  had  been  open 
to  pupils  of  both  sexes  on  payment  of  a  small  tuition 
fee.  The  Dominie,  Archelaus  F.  Putnam,  (Scholse 
Moorensis  Preceptor,  as  appears  in  the  Dartmouth 
College  Catalogue,)  presided  over  the  destinies  of 
that  institution,  only  known  to  me  and  to  the  rest  of 
his  pupils  by  the  familiar  name  of  '  Old  Put^     I 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  19 

never  knew  from  wliat  part  of  the  zodiac  lie  radiated, 
who  gave  him  birth,  who  taught  him  Greek  and 
Latin,  whether  he  was  or  was  not  the  namesake  of 
the  lineal  descendant  of  the  second  son  of  the  Judean 
Governor  who  was  driven  out  of  his  dominions  for  his 
cruelty  ;  whether  he  was  Orthodox  or  Heterodox ; 
whether  he  believed  in  Simon  Magus,  who  prescribed 
lively  bodily  mortification  from  a  notion  that  it  had  a 
happy  influence  in  enlarging  the  mind,  or  sided  with 
Hierax,  who  regarded  children,  "  till  the  age  of 
reason,"  as  outcasts  from  heaven,  and  to  be  treated 
as  young  rebels  or  sinners  ;  or  sympathized  with  that 
sect  which  sprung  up  in  Italy  in  1260,  taking  their 
name  from  the  Latin  Jlagello,  and  maintaining  stoutly 
that  a  brisk  application  of  the  whip  on  the  shoulders 
was  of  equal  virtue  with  the  sacraments  ;  but  of  the 
personal  appearance  of  the  Dominie,  I  have  a  distinct 
impression.  He  was  an  emaciated,  narrow-chested 
man,  above  the  medium  height,  with  a  pale,  rigid 
face — eyes  inexorable  and  full  of  danger,  though 
chafed  into  a  sick  and  pale  dimness,  with  a  mouth 
that  vibrated  betwixt  a  snappish  irritability  and 
an  evident  attempt  to  appear  undisturbed,  and  at 
times  even  jocular.  With  the  utmost  diligence  in 
our  studies,  and  the  closest  observance  of  the  rules 
of  the  school,  it  was  impossible  to  escape  the  humili- 
ating blows  of  a  mahogany  ruler,  which  carried 
out  the  bent  of  his  humor  from  day  to  day,  by 
capricious  hammerings  of  our  sacred  persons,  that  in 
time  threatened  to  break  down  the  stoutest  heart 
amongst  us. 


20  LIFE   OF   -WILLI  A.M  T.    PORTER. 

"  Instinct  and  intellect,  however,  were  quickened 
by  its  liglitning  strokes  down  to  their  secret  springs 
of  inspiration,  and  vigorous  progress  was  the  result 
in  every  department.  The  very  atmosphere  of  old 
Darmouth  at  that  period  communicated  a  sturdy  emu- 
lation in  both  parents  and  children.  Scholarship 
was  the  all-in-all  creed  of  the  day.  Infants  were 
expected  to  lisp  Greek  before  the  appearance  of  their 
first  tooth — the  very  air  was  said  to  be  freighted  with 
Lysbian  lyrics,  and  precedents  of  rare  excellence 
among  the  graduates  of  the  college  were  forever  kept 
before  the  eyes  of  old  and  young.  Tlie  whole  coun- 
try ringing  with  the  fame  of  Mr.  Webster,  and 
the  e very-day  presence  of  Mr.  Choate,  then  a  tutor 
in  college,  in  the  rich  bloom  of  his  personal  beauty, 
with  a  reputation  more  circumscribed  but  not  less 
commanding  within  its  sphere  of  display  than  the 
fame  which  surrounded  him  at  the  day  of  his 
death,  gave  impulse  and  courage  to  every  young 
ambitious  spirit  within  sound  of  the  college  or  acade- 
my bell. 

"  During  these  years  of  unflagging  industry,  "Wil- 
liam made  great  progress  in  his  studies;  and  though 
often  detected  with  a  volume  of  Dr.  Fox,  or  the 
Complete  Angler,  within  the  leaves  of  his  Virgil,  he 
was  considered  '  up  to  his  work '  in  Greek  and 
Latin,  and  ranked  high  as  a  scholar.  Out  of 
school  at  that  time  he  was  always  reading.  He  re- 
membered well  and  accurately  what  he  read,  and  in 
the  selection  of  books  from  the  college  library,  to 
w 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  21 

preference  for  works  of  stirring  action  and  the  biog- 
raphies of  enterprising  men. 

"  In  appearance  he  was  very  striking,  remarkably 
handsome  and  tall  for  his  years,  promising,  if  time 
kept  on,  to  reach  the  '  supreme  pitch  '  of  old  Fried- 
rich  Wilhelm's  Life-guard  Regiment  of  Foot. 

"  Roughness  and  coarseness,  such  as  are  common 
even  to  most  well-trained  boys,  were  entirely  out  of 
his  line.  We  do  not  recollect  to  have  ever  seen 
him  angry,  thougli  he  could  plant  his  foot  down 
occasionally  in  the  shape  of  an  opinion  equal  to 
the  Dominie.  His  character  at  this  age  was  the 
same  as  when  he  came  to  manhood,  generous,  un- 
selfish, modest,  truthful,  cheerful,  always  retaining 
the  credulity  and  simplicity  of  a  child.  An  utter 
inability  to  j)i"onounce  the  monosyllable  no  was 
the  only  loose  screw  in  his  organization.  To  utter 
it  in  good  standfast  fashion,  and  thereby  cause 
disappointment  and  perplexity  to  another,  was  as 
impossible  as  to  add  another  cubit  to  his  stature. 
It  lay  at  the  foundation  of  his  few  mistakes  in  life, 
and  Avas  the  only  source  of  regret  that  threw  a 
shade  over  his  beaming  spirit  from  his  cradle  to 
the  grave. 

"  In  1823  the  discipline  of  the  Dominie  began  to 
tell  unfavorably  upon  all  of  us,  particularly  upon 
George,  whose  temperament  being  sanguine  and  ex- 
citable, rendered  him  more  sensitive  and  restless 
under  the  forcing  system  than  William.  George  was 
a  manly  type  of  a  boy,  with  blonde  complexion, 
broad  forehead,  and  eyes  of  rare  significance ;    tall 


22  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TORTPIR. 

for  his  age,  with  an  unmistakable  look  of  deter- 
mination written  all  over  him.  Of  more  robust 
intellect  than  William,  high  spirited,  not  easily  man- 
aged, thoroughly  sweet-tempered,  clear-headed,  his 
character  from  first  to  last  bore  the  same  impress — 
a  transparent  simplicity,  overlying  a  foundation 
of  strength  and  decision.  He  had  an  instinctive 
abhorrence  of  chastisement,  and  rather  than  run  the 
risk  of  being  struck,  would  strain  forward  like  a 
thorough-bred,  at  the  risk  of  life  and  limb.  Those 
who  were  most  sensitive  to  the  blows  of  the  Domi- 
nie, and  could  be  forced  forward  fastest,  stood  al- 
ways most  in  danger  from  them.  George  had  often 
won  the  first  fruits  of  ambition  and  perseverance,  and 
was  one  of  the  leading  advertisements  of  the  school. 
The  ruler  must  not  relax.  Exasperated  and  worn 
down  at  last,  his  sleep  became  disturbed  by  a  kind 
of  nightmare,  which  threatened  his  health  so  seri- 
ously, as  to  open  my  mother's  eyes,  as  well  as 
those  of  the  whole  village,  to  the  severities  of  the 
school,  and  ended  in  his  being  sent  to  an  academy  at 
Haverhill,  N.  H.,  where  he  remained  for  years,  until 
transferred  to  Meriden,  previous  to  his  entering 
college.  His  emancipation  had  the  effect  to  unsettle 
the  rest  of  us,  and  gave  rise  to  a  very  general  idea 
that  the  long-talked-of  royal  road  to  learning  was  to 
be  sought  out  for  our  especial  solace.  William 
shared  in  the  hallucination,  and  permitted  his  mind 
to  run  riot  with  an  idea  suggested  by  the  life  of 
Dr.  Franklin,  which  he  was  then  reading  for  the 
fiftieth  time,  that  if  he  could  persuade  my  mother  to 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM    T.    PORTER.  23 

give  up  the  prestige  of  Alma  Maters  for  him,  he 
could  start  off  upon  the  great  venture  of  life  in  a 
printing  office  without  the  necessity  of  going  to 
school  another  day.  She,  however,  refused  to  give 
the  proposition  a  single  thought,  sympathizing  very 
clearly  with  the  venerable  Yicar  when  Moses  pro- 
posed to  set  out  in  gosling-green  waistcoat  to  face  the 
snares  of  a  crafty  world. 

"  Soon  after  this  she  had  the  opportunity,  during 
one  of  Mr.  Thompson's  visits  at  Hanover,  to  con- 
sult him,  together  with  Mr.  Olcott,  about  William's 
change  of  school,  and,  in  connection  with  the  sub- 
ject, she  mentioned  his  recent  proposition.  To  her 
astonishment  they  both  advised  her  to  let  the  boy 
have  his  way;  at  all  events  to  let  him  make  the 
trial.  Time  went  on.  Conversations  were  held 
upon  the  subject.  The  uncles  argued,  and  William 
urged  and  promised,  until  she  finally  surrendered  her 
prejudices,  and  yielded  a  reluctant  assent.  Every 
efibrt  was  made  to  find  the  most  unexceptionable 
office  in  New  England  for  his  novitiate,  and  it  was 
finally  determined  that  Messrs.  Elagg  and  Gould's 
printing  establishment  at  Andover,  Mass.,  ofi'ered  the 
fewest  objections,  and  held  out  more  advantages  than 
any  other,  especially  when  viewed  through  the  pious 
medium  of  her  mind.  It  was  at  that  time  the  foun- 
tain-head of  Bibles,  tracts,  and  religious  works.  The 
conductors  were  men  of  well-known  exemplary  lives, 
residing  in  a  theology-imbibing  atmosphere,  and 
where,  from  the  general  idea  I  derived  as  a  child  of 
the  religious  character  of  the  place,  I  supposed  that 


24  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

the  Commandments  and  Catecliism  could  be  seen 
with  the  naked  eye  upon  the  '  pages  of  the  air.' 

"  He  soon  after  left  in  the  mail  stage  for  Andover  ; 
his  letters  came  in  due  time,  informing  us  of  his 
safe  arrival,  good  health,  and  agreeable  surroundings. 
The  first  Tlianksgiving  festival  which  came  round,  he 
passed  in  Boston  at  Mr.  Blake's.  This  was  his  lirst 
and  happy  experience  of  city  life,  under  circumstances 
which  he  recalled  with  fresh  delight  as  long  as  he 
lived.  Twenty-two  years  afterwards  he  alludes  to  that 
joyous  time,  and  almost  with  a  sigh  as  he  closes  an 
article  styled  '  An  Hour  at  Old  Drury.'  '  We  plead 
guilty  to  a  weakness  for  the  sports  of  the  circus  which 
has  grown  with  our  growth,  and  we  can  laugh  at  the 
jokes  of  Mr,  Merry  man  with  as  hearty  a  gusto  as 
when  our  coats  were  minus  the  tails  ;  like  the  re- 
perusal  of  Arabian  Nights  and  Kobinson  Crusoe,  with- 
out an  effort  they  carry  us  back  to  the  days  when,  if 
we  knew  less,  perhaps  we  were  more  happy.'  He 
repeated  his  visit  to  Boston  the  following  summer, 
and  had  the  pleasure  of  accompanying  Mr.  Blake, 
who  was  an  expert  angler,  to  the  cape,  where  he 
fished  in  the  celebrated  Marshpee  Brook,  '  the  best 
trout  stream,'  he  wrote  in  18-iO,  '  in  which  it  was 
ever  our  good  fortune  to  wet  a  line.' 

"  His  first  return  to  Hanover  was  in  April,  1825,  in 
consequence  of  my  mother's  illness.  She  died  on  the 
morning  of  the  4th  of  the  following  month,  of  rapid 
consumption,  in  the  presence  of  all  her  children,  ex- 
cepting my  brother,  the  Doctor,  who  was  in  Georgia. 
The  day  previous  to  her  deatli,  with  a  clear  and  cheer- 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    POETEK.  25 

ful  mind,  as  if  about  to  take  leave  of  us  for  a  tempo- 
rary absence,  she  distributed  tokens  of  her  love,  and 
gave  such  parting  words  of  direction  and  encourage- 
ment as  our  age  and  circumstances  required,  setting 
forth  to  her  sons  the  necessity  of  every  manly  virtue 
to  carry  them  safely  and  honorably  through  life.  She 
tenderly  reminded  us  that  she  was  only  going  away 
from  us  for  a  little  time — a  little  before — going  liome^ 
where  there  would  be  no  more  death,  nor  sorrow,  nor 
crying  ;  and  then  drawing  us  all  closely  about  her,  in 
words  that  cannot  be  remembered,  except  as  they  left 
an  impression  upon  our  hearts  '  deeper  than  all  love,' 
she  breathed  her  last  prayer  for  us  on  earth. 

"  Eeligion  in  her  household  had  been  conscientious- 
ly taught,  but  it  was  her  firm,  consistent,  courageous, 
silent  example,  which  made  an  undying  impression 
upon  her  children. 

"  However  full  and  diversified  the  after  life  of  her 
sons,  through  all  their  trials  and  temptations,  pleas- 
ures and  triumphs  of  one  kind  and  another,  amidst 
the  congenialities  of  genial  and  oftentimes  hazardous 
companionship  '  bullying  in  upon  them  in  masses,' 
they  never  outgrew  the  influences  stamped  upon  their 
souls  when  under  her  care. 

"  We  saw  her  carried  upon  a  bier,  and  laid  by  the 
side  of  our  father,  and  in  a  few  weeks  afterwards  we 
were  all  cut  adrift  from  the  home  anchorage  for- 
ever. 

"  Benjamin  returned  to  Boston,  William  to  An- 
dover,  while  George  and  Frank  pursued  their  prepara- 
tory studies  for  college  at  Haverhill  and  Meriden." 
2 


26  LIFE   OF   WILLIAISI   T.    PORTER. 

Dr..  Poi-ter,  the  eldest  brother  of  William  T.  Por- 
ter, graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1822.  His 
friend  and  classmate  Mr.  Chief  Justice  Perley,  of 
Concord,  N.  H.,  thus  writes  of  him  in  a  letter  to  Mrs. 
Brinley,  Sept.  28,  1859  : 

"  I  was  very  intimately  acquainted  with  your  brother,  Dr. 
Porter.  "When  I  entered  college  as  a  freshman  in  Sept.  1818,  I 
found  him  then  a  member  of  the  class.  He  was  then,  I  think, 
sixteen  years  old,  and  had  already  reached  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
his  full  stature  of  six  feet.  He  was  then  of  a  slender  figure,  very 
erect,  and  very  brisk  and  alert  in  all  his  movements,  full  of  viva- 
city and  spirit ;  a  general  favorite  in  college  on  account  of  his 
amiable  disposition,  his  winning  manners,  and  agreeable  conver- 
sation. He  was  not  a  severe  student  of  the  regular  college 
studies  ;  but  a  keen  observer  of  all  that  was  passing  around  him, 
very  well  informed  on  general  subjects,  and  wholly  free  from  all 
inclination  to  vice  or  low  dissipation.  He  left  college  with  the 
reputation  of  a  young  man  likely  to  achieve  a  brilliant  success  in 
any  department  of  practical  life  that  he  might  select.  Soon  after 
he  left  college  he  went  to  Virginia,  and  afterwards  to  Georgia, 
and  was  absent  from  New  England  about  five  years.  In  Nov., 
1827, 1  went  to  Hanover  to  try  my  chances  in  the  law,  and  found 
your  brother  there,  just  returned  from  Georgia,  and  attending  the 
medical  lectures  in  the  college.  I  saw  much  of  hira  while  he 
remained  there,  which  I  think  was  about  two  years,  and  found 
him  little  changed  in  character  or  manners  from  the  man  from 
whom  I  had  parted  five  years  before.  He  had,  however,  made 
great  advances  in  general  knowledge,  and  adopted  more  settled 
views  in  life. 

"  Your  father  had  died  before  I  knew  any  of  the  family.  Your 
mother  did  not  remove  from  Newbury  until  some  time  after  the 
Doctor  entered  college,  and  I  did  not  become  acquainted  with 
her  until  near  the  end  of  my  college  course.  I  was,  however, 
well  acquainted  with  her  afterwards,  and  am  under  obligations  to 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK.  27 

her  kindness,  which  I  trust  I  shall  never  forget.     She  had  many- 
points  of  resemblance  to  her  brother,  your  uncle  Olcott,*  his  wit, 

*  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Olcott's  death,  an  obituary  appeared  in  the 
"  New  York  Observer,"  written  by  the  late  Rev.  George  Bush,  of  that 
city,  formerly  a  private  tutor  in  tlie  family  of  Mr.  Olcott,  so  masterly 
in  delineation,  that  the  Hon.  Rufus  Choate  (a  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Olcott) 
considered"  it  a  more  faithful  portrait  than  the  skilful  pencil  of  any 
Umner  could  produce.  The  influence  of  such  a  man  standing  in  the 
relationship  which  he  did  to  the  five  brothers  Porter,  from  their  boy- 
hood to  the  hour  of  his  death,  was  beyond  calculation.  He  was  their 
beau  ideal  of  all  that  constituted  a  gentleman  in  the  highest  sense  of 
that  term.  They  loved  and  honored  him  through  life  with  the  devo- 
tion of  children,  regarding  a  word  of  commendation  from  his  lips  with 
more  delight  than  from  any  other  human  source,  while  a  hint  intended 
to  convey  a  shade  of  merited  rebuke  filled  them  with  unspeakable  re- 
gret. It  is  impossible  to  observe  the  outlines  of  Mr.  Olcott's  rare 
nature  without  recognizing  much  of  the  breadth  and  vigor  which  were 
conspicuous  in  his  nephews,  and  which  at  this  date  are  eminently  em- 
braced in  the  character  of  his  immediate  descendants. 

HON.  MILLS  OLCOTT. 

Died,  at  Hanover,  N.  II.,  on  the  11th  inst.,  Hon.  Mills  Olcott,  aged  71.  In  the 
death  of  this  estimable  man  Society,  learning,  religion,  share  with  a  bereaved  do- 
mestic circle  in  the  consciousness  of  a  loss  well-nigh  irreparable.  Few  men  have 
been  more  widely  known,  few  more  profoundly  loved  and  respected  in  life,  or 
more  sincerely  lamented  in  death.  The  pen  which  would  fain  pay  a  becoming 
tribute  to  his  various  worth,  finds  itself  at  a  loss  to  present  a  portrait,  which,  while 
it  shall  .appear  true  to  his  friends,  shall  not  seem  overwrought  and  extravagant  to 
those  who  had  not  the  pleasure  of  his  personal  acquaintance.  Viewed  as  to  native 
endowments  his  character  was  a  rare  assemblage  of  high  qualities.  Every  thing 
about  him  was  cast  in  moulds  which  gave  forth  only  elevated  and  imposing  forms. 
He  was  emphatically  a  man  of  large  soul.  A  certain  inbred  generosity  of  nature 
— a  lofty  magnanimity — an  expansive  liberality  of  sentiment— a  signal  superiority 
to  any  thing  low  or  little— shone  conspicuous  in  his  habitual  bearing,  and  was 
abundantly  realized  in  its  appropriate  actings  in  the  various  conduct  of  life.  His 
intellect  was  remarkable  for  clearness  and  acuteness,  and  though  receiving  an 
early  direction  to  the  sphere  of  the  practical  rather  than  of  the  speculative,  yet 
it  was  evident  that,  had  circumstances  varied  the  bent  of  his  genius,  he  would  not 
have  failed  of  eminence  in  any  department  of  letters  or  science  to  which  he  might 
have  devoted  himself.    As  it  was,  though  distinguished  by  a  refined  and  elegant 


28  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM  T.    PORTER. 

his  slirewd  observation  of  character,  with  more  vivacity,  and  a 
more  easy  and  flowing  style  of  conversation.     Her  liealth,  after  I 

taste,  yet  his  converse  was  rather  with  men  than  with  hooks,  and  his  keen  Insight 
Into  character— his  exact  judgment— his  fer-secing  sagacity— his  proverbial  pru- 
dence—while they  secured  distinguished  success  to  his  own  secular  plans,  gave  a 
peculiar  value  to  his  coumel—yiMch  was  always  readily  accorded— in  regard  to 
the  conduct  and  affairs  of  life.  In  what  is  technically  termed  the  knowledge  of 
human  nature  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  find  his  superior.  Yet  with  all  the 
conscious  impression  and  tacit  acknowledgment  of  pre-eminent  powers  inspired 
upon  those  who  knew  him,  no  one  was  ever  oppressed  by  it.  He  wore  his  virtues 
so  meekly— he  was  so  "  courteously  carriaged  "—he  had  such  a  delicate  respect  to 
the  feelings  of  others,  even  in  the  minutest  points— and  was  so  instinctively  stu- 
dious of  preserving  their  proper  self  esteem  un wounded  by  the  least  word  or  look 
which  could  give  pain,  that  thn  ideal  of  the  perfect  gentleman  could  scarcely  find 
itself  more  adequately  embodied  than  in  him. 

His  love  of  the  domestic  circle  made  him  averse  to  public  life,  while  it  availed 
not  to  quench  his  public  spirit.  Every  useful  enterprise,  institution,  and  object 
drew  largely  upon  his  sympathies  .and  freely  upon  his  support ;  and  yet  his  private 
charities,  no  less  numerous  or  ample  for  his  public  benefactions,  left  their  record 
in  the  grateful  memory  of  relieved  affliction  and  in  the  tears  that  were  shed  on  ac- 
count of  the  tears  that  were  spared. 

The  Literary  Institution  with  whoso  fortunes  he  was  more  than  half  a  century 
lionnected,  whose  interests  he  was  ever  active  in  the  various  capacities  of  Trustee, 
Secretary,  and  Treasurer,  in  promoting,  and  whose  successive  generations  of 
alumni  have  borne  his  revered  image  engraved  on  their  hearts,  will  feel  itself 
shorn  of  a  pillar  of  strength  in  his  removal,  and  the  festivities  of  its  coming  anni- 
versary will  be  gloomily  damped  by  the  view  of  his  vacant  place  on  the  accustomed 
stage. 

In  social  life  he  was  the  model  of  every  thing  at  once  commanding  and  attrac- 
tive. His  extensive  acquaintance  with  men— his  intuition  of  character— his  un- 
failing store  of  anecdote— his  delicate  irony— his  power  of  graphic  portraiture— his 
brilliant  but  innocuous  wit,  made  his  society  a  rich  treat  to  all  ages ;  and  the  ex- 
quisite manner  in  which  ho  managed  to  introduce  some  hint  of  practical  wisdom 
that  raiaht  especially  serve  for  the  guidance  of  the  young  and  inexperienced,  was 
always  felt  but  never  can  be  duly  described.  "With  the  keenest  perception  of  the 
eccentric,  the  grotesque,  or  the  ludicrous  in  character,  no  man  ever  discovered 
more  leniency  to  human  infirmity,  or  was  more  tenderly  alive  to  the  sensibilities 
which  guarded  the  weaknesses  he  would  fain  correct. 

The  qualities  which  we  have  thus  fully  depicted  as  characterizing  the  deceased 
must  needs  command  admiration,  as  they  universally  did  in  the  subject  of  them, 
independent  of  the  oper.ition  of  any  higher  element  in  the  midst  of  those  striking 
gifts  of  nature.  But  we  have  still  to  advert  to  the  crowning  excellence  of  the  man 
in  the  spirit  of  unfeigned  piety  which  adorned  the  greater  portion  of  his  earthly 
career.  Ills  native  endowments  constituted  a  beautiful  ground  for  the  display  of 
tlic  inwrought  graces  of  the  Spirit  of  God.     Having  attained  to  mature  life  before 


LIFE    OF   WILLIAM    T.    PORTEE.  29 

knew  her,  was  seldom  perfect,  but  she  was  uniformly  cheerful. 
She  was  a  very  religious  person,  but  her  piety  had  nothing  in  it 
morose  or  severe.  Her  manners  had  been  formed  in  the  best 
society  of  her  time,  and  had  the  ease  and  simplicity  which  I  take 
to  be  the  highest  proof  of  pei'fect  good-breeding." 

"  I  have  but  one  positive  memoiy  connected  with 
mj  eldest  brother,"  writes  Mrs.  Brinley,  "  in  these 
early  Hanover  years,  and  as  it  gives  significance  to 
his  after  life,  I  rejoice  to  be  able  to  recall  it, 

"  A  few  weeks  after  he  left  college,  he  was  in  read- 
iness to  carry  out  a  plan  quite  common  among  gradu- 
ates at  that  time,  of  starting  for  the  South,  to  engage 
as  a  public  or  private  teacher,  in  order  to  gain  the 
means  of  obtaining  a  professional  education  easier, 
earlier,  and  more  ample  than  could  be  done  at  the 
North. 


formally  connecting  himself  with  a  church,  he  lived  ever  after  as  if  intent  upon 
bringing  up  the  religious  arrears  of  his  earlier  years.  Exemplary  and  faithful  in 
the  discharge  of  every  duty,  he  yet  evinced  the  air  of  one  who,  oppressed  with  the 
consciousness  of  perpetual  defects,  rejoiced  mainly  in  the  hope  built  upon  the 
gratuitous  mercy  of  the  gospel  through  the  finished  righteousness  of  the  Lord  tho 
Saviour.  His  child-like  trust  in  the  merits  of  Christ  was  conspicuously  coupled 
with  a  delightful  softening  influence  upon  the  stronger  traits  of  his  natural  char- 
acter, causing  all  the  more  salient  qualities  of  the  man  to  be  kept  in  wholesome 
check  by  the  restraining  graces  of  tho  Christian.  Ilumility,  simplicity,  meekness, 
continually  mantled  over  his  deportment;  and  if  it  were  possible  to  detect  a  fault 
in  his  religious  character,  it  would  perhaps  be  in  that  extreme  self-depreciation 
which  seemed  to  forbid  the  thought  that  he  could  venture  to  assume  that  position 
of  prominence  in  good  works  which  every  one  else  was  so  ready  to  accord  to  him. 
For  this  reason  he  was  perhaps  unduly  prone  to  keep  himself  in  the  back  ground, 
when  the  grace  of  God  would  have  been  more  highly  magnified  by  a  believing 
disregard  of  his  own  conscious  infirmities.  But  with  all  abatements  on  this  or  any 
other  score,  he  has  left  to  a  mourning  family  and  church  the  legacy  of  a  remem- 
bered example  of  Christian  virtues  but  seldom  evinced,  and  the  peaceful  and  hal- 
lowed calm  of  his  death-bed,  in  the  midst  of  excruciating  sufferings,  put  the  seal 
of  heaven's  encomium  upon  his  life,  and  gave  to  himself  and  his  friends  the  assured 
anticipation  of  the  future  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant." 


\ 


30  LIFE   OF   WILLTAil   T.    TOKTEK. 

"TLe  morning  of  liis  departure  from  home,  long 
before  the  dawn,  while  sleeping  by  the  side  of  mj 
mother,  I  was  awaked  hj  his  entering  the  room  to 
take  leave  of  her.  He  was  sobbing  alond.  and  fell  on 
his  knees  before  her,  and  for  some  time  both  were  too 
much  overcome  to  speak  a  word.  My  mother  recov- 
ered first,  and  in  broken  voice  gave  him  much  solemn 
and  earnest  advice,  which  seemed  to  me  very  much 
in  the  form  of  j)rayer.  As  he  was  about  to  leave  her, 
she  said  to  him  with  prophetic  earnestness  in  her 
voice  and  manner,  '  My  son,  if  I  should  die  before 
you  come  back,  promise  me  to  take  care  of  my  little 
ones.'  He  made  the  desired  promise  with  firm  voice 
and  with  all  the  manly  warmth  and  sincerity  of  his 
nature.  Another  farewell  embrace,  the  door  opened, 
and  they  were  separated,  never  to  meet  again  mitil 
the  integrity  of  that  pledge  had  been  tested  by  a  life- 
time of  labor  and  love  in  behalf  of  those  committed 
to  his  charge.  From  the  day  that  he  heard  the  tidings 
of  her  death,  his  oversight  of  us  four  youngest  chil- 
dren, William,  George,  Frank,  and  myself,  commenc- 
ed, and  though  separated  from  us  for  nearly  two  years 
after  that  event,  his  letters  were  constant  and  regular, 
addressed  not  only  to  ourselves,  but  to  those  who  had 
the  control  of  our  training  and  education.  IS'othing 
was  too  trivial  or  insignificant  to  escape  his  loving 
interest  and  scrutiny ;  and  though  there  were  many 
times  during  those  two  long  years  of  absence,  when 
we  felt  ourselves  alone  in  the  world,  scattered  and 
separated  from  each  other,  yet  his  fatherly  and  re- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK,  31 

sponsible  care  kept  us  all  comparatively  liopeful  and 
happy  until  his  return. 

"  We  religiously  preserved  his  letters.  Their  valu c 
to  my  younger  brothers  was  of  incalculable  advantage, 
and  were  read  and  re-read  so  often  that  at  this  date 
their  fragile  leaves  hardly  hold  together,  and  are  never 
touched  without  an  apprehension  that  they  will  exhale 
in  our  hands." 

In  one  of  his  letters  to  William,  while  the  latter 
was  still  at  Andover,  he  writes,  "  It  has  gratified  me 
very  much  to  know  that  you  are  so  well  situated  in 
Andover,  and  that  you  are  contented  and  happy.  I 
think  your  profession,  if  well  understood,  is  one  of  the 
very  best  in  the  whole  circle  of  those  employments 
which  are  usually  filled  by  industrious  and  enterpris- 
ing men,  and  one  which  will  insure  every  honest  man 
a  competent  livelihood;  and  to  one  who  improves 
every  opportunity  to  become  acquainted  with  books, 
it  can  scarcely  fail  of  procuring  both  honor  and 
profit.  You  seem  to  have  employed  your  leisure 
hours  to  some  purpose.  It  did  my  heart  good  to 
mark  the  freedom  and  justness  of  your  remarks  on 
the  works  you  have  read.  You  have  only  to  continue 
your  diligence  a  year  or  two  longer,  and  you  will 
have  every  thing  to  hope.  I  am  not  at  all  opposed 
to  the  course  of  reading  you  have  pursued  ;  for  you 
have  now  arrived  at  that  age  when  the  acquirement 
of  a  good  style  is  equally  important  with  the  acquisi- 
tion of  facts." 


CHAPTEK    II. 

In  tlie  year  1829,  William  commenced  his  editorial 
life  at  St.  Johnsbury,  Yt,  in  connection  with  "  The 
Farmer's  Herald,"  and  in  about  a  year  removed  to 
Korwich,  as  an  associate  in  the  publication  of  "  The 
Enquirer,"  where  he  remained  but  a  short  time,  and 
then  with  a  light  heart  and  a  lighter  purse,  he  gave  a 
lingering  look  at  the  hills  of  his  native  State,  and 
started  for  Xew  York,  as  the  most  promising  field 
for  the  support  of  such  a  journal  as  he  hoped  to  estab- 
lish. 

The  Hon.  Horace  Greeley  wrote  us  a  few  months 
ago  from  New  York  : 

"  I  came  to  this  city  about  the  16th  of  August,  1831,  and  very 
soon  found  work  as  a  compositor  at  Mr.  John  T.  "West's  printing 
office,  No.  85  Chatham  Street.  I  here  found  Mr.  "WiUiam  T. 
Porter  at  work  as  a  compositor,  and  I  think  he  officiated  as  fore- 
man. My  recollections  of  him  at  that  period  are,  tbat  he  was  a  tall, 
comely  youth,  of  about  twenty-five,  very  urbane  and  kind  toward 
those  younger  and  less  favored  than  himself,  and  a  capital  work- 
man. He  left  West,  I  think,  before  I  did,  the  work  here  being 
very  poorly  paid,  while  he  was  able  to  command  more  lucrative 


LIFE   OK   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  33 

emi^loyment.  At  the  last  end  of  this  year,  he  and  James  How, 
another  young  printer,  devised  'The  Spirit  of  the  Times,'  a 
weekly  sporting  paper,  which  they  bi-ought  out  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1882.  I  worked  for  them  from  the  outset,  and  remem- 
ber getting  the  first  number  to  press  a  little  after  midnight  of 
Dec.  31,  1831,  Jan.  1,  1832.  I  continued  to  work  on  this  paper, 
first  at  No.  64  Fulton  Street,  afterwards  at  No.  45  Wall  Street, 
till  September,  1832,  when  I  left  on  a  visit  to  my  relatives  in 
New  Hampshire,  and  my  place  was  supplied,  so  that  I  did  not 
work  on  the  '  Spirit '  thereafter."  * 

As  the  Jirst  number  of  the  "  Spirit "  was  issued  on 
Saturday,  December  lOtli,  1831,  according  to  Mr. 
Porter,  it  must  have  been  the  fourth  number  on 
which  Mr.  Greeley  was  engaged  as  indicated  in  his 
letter  ;  the  precise  date  the  author  has  not  been  able 
to  verify,  as  the  early  numbers  cannot  be  found.  The 
circulation  was  about  six  thousand  copies ;  a  large 
number  for  the  new  paper,  under  all  circumstances. 
In  a  few  months  it  was  united  with  "  The  Traveller," 
with  Mr.  Porter  in  charge  of  the  sporting  department. 
This  arrangement  did  not  last  long,  and  Mr.  Porter 
took  charge  of  "  The  Xew  Yorker  "  for  a  short  time 
— and  then  of  "  The  Constellation."     But  as  those 

*  As  illustrative  of  Mr.  Porter's  appreciation  of  a  genuine  strong 
character,  he  thus  alludes  to  Mr.  Greeley  as  long  ago  as  when  the 
latter  was  editor  of  the  "  New  Yorker  " : 

"Mr.  Greeley  is  the  friend  of  our  early  days,  and  a  right  manly,  honest 
editor  is  he.  So  eminent  are  liis  abilities  and  so  remarkable  his  industry,  that 
we  boldly  predict  for  him  a  brilliant  future  ;  and  his  career  as  an  editor— thus 
far  since  his  recent  outset,  propitious — is  destined  to  be  yet  more  commanding; 
ho  will  be  yet  heard  in  the  councils  of  his  country.  Into  whatever  situation  he 
may  be  thrown,  however  ho  may  be  elevated  or  depressed  in  life,  he  will  carry 
with  him  right  staunch  and  sturdy  honesty,  the  noblest  gift  of  God." 

2* 


34  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEE. 

journals  gave  a  subordinate  place  to  sporting  matters, 
it  was  natural  that  his  thoughts  should  revert  with 
affectionate  regard  to  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Times," 
which  he  originated,  and  which  was  baptized  by  his 
brother  Benjamin,  who  suggested  its  name ;  and  he 
soon  after  purchased  the  copyright  of  "  The  Traveller, 
and  Spirit  of  the  Times "  from  C.  J.  B.  Fisher,  by 
whom  they  had  been  united,  and  on  Saturday,  Janu- 
ary 3,  1835,  Mr.  Porter  issued  the  paper  with  the 
name  it  now  bears. 

He  was  now  in  the  position  which  he  coveted, 
and  the  opening  words  of  a  genial  address  to  the 
"  Fraternity,"  which  is  full  of  kindness,  attest  his 
satisfaction.  "  We  joy  to  meet  you  thus  alone.  It 
has  been  our  good  or  bad  fortune  more  than  once  to 
be  connected  with  prmts  over  which  our  control  was 
shackled  by  the  will  of  others,  and  where  it  was  inex- 
pedient to  give  free  vent  to  our  feelings  to  our  edi- 
torial compeers.  To  be  sure  we  had  our  own  M'ay, 
but  then,  as  Col.  Hardy  says  in  the  play,  we  hadn't 
our  own  way  of  having  it.  Tliank  Heaven,  such  is 
not  now  the  case,  and  we  seize  the  opportunity  of 
making  our  grateful  devoirs  to  each  and  all  in  that 
sj)irit  of  courtesy  and  good  fellowship  which  har- 
monizes with  our  sincerest  sentiments." 

"When  he  had  thus  consummated  his  cherished 
purpose  of  establishing  and  solely  conducting  a  sport- 
ing newspaper  in  the  Commercial  Metropolis  of  the 
country,  he  was  perfectly  aware  that  there  existed,  in 
some  sections,  a  marked  antipathy  to  the  very  name 
of    race-course,  and  a  morbid   apprehension  of  the 


LIFE   OF   AVILLIAM   T.    I'ORTEK.  35 

ruinous  and  indefinite  inischiefs  which  were  errone- 
ously believed  to  be  its  inseparable  attendants. 

In  the  Middle  States,  a  tolerant  and  kindly  feeling 
for  the  turf  was  quite  prevalent ;  while  at  the  South 
and  South-west,  out-of-door  life  with  its  various  sources 
of  amusement  and  excitement,  and  its  promptings  to 
a  zealous,  yet  rational  regard  for  the  horse,  the  gun, 
and  the  angling-rod,  was  an  ardent  passion  with  agri- 
cultural gentlemen  of  wealth  and  spirit. 

The  conflicting  opinions  of  different  sections  of  the 
country,  were  obstacles  to  the  smooth,  rapid,  and 
profitable  progress  of  the  novel  enterprise.  To  face 
and  to  correct  deep-rooted  prejudices,  demanded  the 
aid  of  a  "  man  of  hope  and  forward-looking  mind," 
and  in  whom  should  be  united  a  rare  variety  of 
qualities ;  enthusiasm  in  the  subject-matter,  talent, 
practical  knowledge  of  printing,  and  a  clear  sense 
of  editorial  duty,  good  temper,  sound  judgment, 
perseverance,  honor,  and  pluck.  Fortunately,  all 
these  elements  of  success  were  mingled  with  different 
degrees  of  intensity,  in  the  trustful  and  generous  na- 
ture of  the  gifted  projector  of  the  new  journal. 

It  was  a  novel  undertaking,  no  other  American 
newspaper  having  the  same  specialty,  or  claiming  to 
be  regarded  as  reliable  authority  as  to  the  value  and 
ownership  of  animals  asserted  to  be  thorough-bred. 
These  points  were  becoming  more  and  more  important 
as  the  investment  in  stock  was  regularly  and  rapidly 
augmenting  in  most  parts  of  the  United  States. 

Horses  were  introduced  into  England  at  a  very 
early  date;  the  crown  and  the  people  both  encourag- 


36  LITE   OF   WILLIAM  T.    POKTEK. 

ing  tlie  growth  of  breeds  of  different,  but  superior 
qualities. 

In  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  (Herbert  informs  us,) 
the  English  thorough-bred  horse  may  be  regarded  as 
fully  established  ;  the  Darley  Arabian,  son  of  Flying 
Childers,  Curwen's  Barb,  and  Lord  Carlisle's  Turk,  son 
of  the  Bald  Galloway,  being  imported  in  her  reign. 
Sixteen  years  after  her  death,  and  three  years  before  the 
foundation  of  Georgia,  the  youngest  of  the  royal  colo- 
nies, twenty-one  foreign,  and  fifty  native  stallions,  some 
of  them  the  most  celebrated  horses  the  world  has  ever 
seen,  such  as  Childers,  Bartlett's  Childers,  the  Grey 
Childers,  the  Bald  Galloway,  Bay  Bolton,  Coneyskins, 
Crab,  Fox,  Hartley's  Blind  Horse,  Jigg,  Soreheels, 
and  Trueblue,  were  covering  in  the  United  Kingdoms ; 
and  from  some  of  those  are  descended  almost  all  our 
racers  of  the  present  day.  Six  years  before  this,  the 
first  racing  calendar  was  published  in  England,  with 
nearly  seven  hundred  subscribers.  During  this 
period  it  was,  precisely,  that  the  American  colonies 
were  planted  ;  and,  as  might  be  anticipated,  English 
horses  of  pure  blood  were  at  a  ver}-  early  date  intro- 
duced. And  in  those  regions  where  the  settlement  was 
principally  efiected  by  men  of  birth,  attached  to  the 
cavalier  party,  race-horses  were  kept  and  trained ; 
race-courses  were  established,  and  a  well-authenticated 
stock  of  thorough-bred  animals,  tracing  to  the  most 
celebrated  English  sires,  many  of  which  were  im- 
ported in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
was  in  existence  considerably  before  the  outbreak  of 
the  old  French  war.     In  the  Eastern  States,  the  set- 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  37 

tiers  of  which  were,  for  the  most  part,  attached  to  the 
Puritan  party,  and  therefore  opposed  to  all  amuse- 
ments and  pastimes,  as  frivolous,  at  the  least,  and 
unprofitable,  and  to  horse-racing  more  especially  as 
profane  and  positively  wicked,  very  few  horses  of 
thorough  blood  were  imported. 

Virginia  and  Maryland  as  the  head-quarters  of 
the  cavaliers — the  former  State  having  for  a  long  time 
refused  submission  to  the  Commonwealth  and  to 
stout  old  Oliver — as  the  seat  of  the  aristocracy,  fashion, 
and  wealth  of  the  Colonies,  prior  to  the  Kevolution — 
took  an  early  and  decided  lead  in  this  noble  pursuit ; 
and  while  the  love  of  the  sport  continues  to  distinguish 
their  descendants,  who  are  by  far  the  most  equestrian 
in  their  habits  of  any  other  citizens  of  the  Republic, 
the  result  of  the  liberality  of  the  first  settlers  is  yet 
visible  in  the  blood  of  their  noble  steeds. 

The  emigrants  from  those  States  to  Tennessee  took 
some  of  their  best  stock  with  them,  and  thus  it  became 
more  or  less  diffused,  as  population  was  attracted  to 
fresh  territory,  and  as  the  boundaries  of  the  Union 
were  enlarged. 

It  is  believed  that  the  amusements  of  the  Turf 
were  introduced  into  America  by  Gov.  Samuel  Ogle, 
during  his  term  of  office  as  Governor  of  the  Province 
of  Maryland,  from  1732  to  1745.  David  Ridgely,  in 
his  "  Annals  of  Annapolis,"  states  that 

"  The  first  public  horse-racing  at,  or  near  Annapolis,  is  adver- 
tised in  the  Maryland  Gazette,  to  take  place  on  the  30th  and  31st 
days  of  May,  1745.  The  purses  to  he  run  for  by  any  horse,  mare, 
or  gelding,  ('  Old  Kanter '   and   '  Limber  Sides '  excepted,)  to 


38  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK. 

carry  115  pounds,  three  heats,  the  course  two  miles."  *  *  * 
"  How  this  race  came  off,  we  are  not  informed.  From  the  ex- 
clusion of  '  Old  Ranter  '  and  '  Limber  Sides,'  we  may  infer  they 
Avere  somewhat  celebrated  in  their  day."    *    *    * 

"  1747.  On  the  29th  of  September,  in  this  year,  a  race  was 
run  on  this  Course  (at  Annapolis)  between  Gov.  Ogle's  bay 
gelding  and  Col.  Plater's  grey  stallion,  and  won  by  the  former." 

"  A  Jockey  club  was  instituted  here  about  this  period,  con- 
sisting of  many  principal  gentlemen  in  this  and  the  adjacent  prov- 
inces, many  of  whom,  in  order  to  encourage  the  breed  of  this 
noble  animal,  imported  fi'om  England,  at  a  very  great  expense, 
horses  of  high  reputation.  This  club  existed  for  many  yeai's. 
The  races  at  Annapolis  were  generally  attended  by  a  great  con- 
course of  spectators,  many  coming  from  the  adjoining  Colonies. 
Considerable  sums  were  bet  on  these  occasions.  Subscription 
purses  of  one  hundred  guineas  were,  for  a  length  of  time,  the 
highest  amounts  run  for,  but  subsequently  were  greatly  increased. 
The  day  of  the  races  usually  closed  with  balls  or  theatrical 
amusements." 

"  On  the  same  ground,  some  years  after,  (1767-8,)  Dr.  Ham- 
ilton's horse  Figaro,  won  a  purse  of  fifty  pistoles.  *  *  *  Figaro 
was  a  horse  of  great  reputation  ;  it  is  stated  of  him  that  he  had 
won  many  fifties,  and  in  the  year  1763  to  have  received  premi- 
ums at  Preston  and  Carlisle,  in  Old  England,  where  no  horse 
could  enter  against  him  ;  he  never  lost  a  race." 

Between  the  years  of  1Y52  and  1766,  Jolly  Eogers, 
James,  Feaniouglit,  and  Partner,  were  imported  into 
Virginia. 

Dr.  Jolin  B.  Irving  in  his  interesting  history  of 
the  South  Carolina  Turf,  written  in  1843,  says : 

"  It  is  upwards  of  a  century  since  racing  commenced  in  Carolina 
as  a  popular  pastime.  The  earliest  record  that  exists  of  any  pub- 
lic running,  appears  in  the  South  Carolina  Gazette,  February  1, 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  39 

1734.  The  prize  was  a  saddle  and  bridle  valued  at  £20.  The 
race  was  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  February,  1734 — mile  heats — 
four  entries.  The  horses  carried  ten  stone — white  riders.  This 
was  one  of  the  stipulations  of  the  race.  There  was  also  another 
condition,  that  the  horses  should  be  entered  on  the  Saturday 
preceding  the  race.  This  race  took  place  on  a  Green  on  Charles- 
ton Neck,  immediately  opposite  a  public  house  known  in  those 
days  as  the  Bowling  Green  House." 

Dr.  Irving  describes  the  season  of  1Y88  as  "  a 
golden  age  of  racing  in  Soutli  Carolina,"  and  says 
in  reference  to  it, 

"  Whether  we  consider  the  elevated  character  of  the  gentle- 
men of  the  Turf,  the  attractions  that  the  races  possessed  at  that 
time,  and  for  many  subsequent  years  '  for  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men ; '  youth  anticipating  its  delights  for  weeks  beforehand — ■ 
the  sternness  of  age  relaxing  by  their  appi'oach— lovers  becoming 
more  ardent,  and  young  damsels  setting  their  caps  with  greater 
dexterity — the  quality  of  the  company  in  attendance— the  splendid 
equipages— the  liveried  outriders  that  were  to  be  seen  daily  on 
the  course — the  gentlemen  attending  the  races  in  fashionable  Lon- 
don made  clothes,  luchsTcin  ireeches  and  top-boots — the  universal 
interest  pervading  all  classes,  from  the  Judge  upon  the  Bench,  to 
the  little  school-boy  with  his  satchel  on  his  back— the  kind 
greetings  of  the  Town  and  Country— the  happy  meeting  of  old 
friends  whose  residences  were  at  a  distance,  affording  occasions 
of  happy  intercourse  and  festivity — the  marked  absence  of  all 
care^  except  care  of  the  horses— the  total  disregard  of  the  value 
of  time^  except  by  the  competition  in  the  races,  who  did  their 
best  to  save  and  economize  it— every  thing  combined  to  render 
race-week  in  Charleston,  emphatically  the  Carnival  of  the  State, 
when  it  was  unpopular,  if  not  impossible  to  be  out  of  spirits,  and 
not  to  mingle  with  the  gay  throng. 

"  The  best  idea  we  can  give  of  the  moral  influence  of  race- 
week,  (as  exerted  formerly,)  is  to  state  that  the  Courts  of  Justice 


40  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM    T.    PORTEE. 

used  daily  to  adjouru,  aad  all  the  schools  were  regularly  let  out,  as 
the  hour  for  starting  the  horses  drew  near ;  with  one  consent  the 
stores  in  Broad  and  King  streets  were  closed — all  business  being 
suspended  on  the  joyous  occasion,  the  feelings  of  the  good  people 
partaking  of  the  rapidity  of  the  races  themselves — in  fact,  it  was 
no  uncommon  sight  to  see  the  most  venerable  and  distinguished 
dignitaries  of  the  land,  Clergymen  and  Judges,  side  by  side  on 
the  course  taking  a  deep  interest  in  the  animated  and  animating 
scene  around  them ! 

"  With  such  a  stimulus  to  prosperity  and  the  preservation  of 
good  morals,  no  wonder  that  order  and  sobriety  and  good  fellow- 
ship prevailed  as  abundantly  as  they  did  in  those  days.  We 
must  not  omit  to  notice  that  in  the  early  days  of  Eacing  in  South 
Carolina,  the  gentlemen  of  the  Turf,  like  the  ancient  nobles,  Hiero 
and  others,  never  ran  their  horses  for  the  pecuniary  value  of  the 
prize  to  be  won,  but  solely  for  the  honor,  that  a  horse  of  their 
own  breeding  and  training  should  distinguish  himself,  Mr. 
Daniel  Eaveuel,  and  many  others,  of  the  high-minded  turfmen  of 
those  days,  expressed  great  disapprobation  at  any  departure  from 
the  good  old  custom  of  their  fathers,  and  did  all  in  their  power 
to  prevent  a  change  when  it  Avas  proposed.  The  prize  used 
to  be,  not  a  purse  of  gold  or  silver,  but  a  piece  of  plate.  Several 
of  these  tokens  of  success  are  in  the  possession  of  the  descendants 
of  those  who  formerly  owned  race  horses  in  the  State. 

"  Such  were  the  races  in  South  Carolina !  Let  us  hope  then 
that  we  of  the  present  generation  will  never  feel  less  attach- 
ment than  our  fathers  did  to  the  Sports  of  the  Turf ;  and  that 
whatever  other  changes  may  occur  in  our  State,  no  change  will 
ever  take  place  in  the  celebrity  of  our  horses ;  that  the  animating 
spirit  of  the  Chase  will  in  all  time  to  come,  continue  to  call  our 
youth  to  the  woods,  and  the  rational  amusement  of  the  course, 
our  Sportsmen  to  the  Turf!  " 

It  is  not  proposed  to  ascertain  the  number  and 
names  of  the  numerous  race-courses  -whicli  have  since 
been  established  all  over  the  country,  or  to  give  even 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAISI   T.    PORTER.  41 

an  approximate  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  thorough- 
bred stock,  imported  or  native,  as  this  vohime  is  not 
intended  for  an  Index  to  a  Racing  Calendar,  or  a 
mere  repertory  of  names.  But  some  reference  to  the 
value  of  choice  animals,  and  to  the  pecuniary  interests 
allied  to  the  Turf,  is  indispensable  to  an  appreciation 
of  the  motive,  independent  of  personal  taste,  which 
stimulated  Mr,  Porter  to  embark  his  limited  resources, 
but  large  intelligence,  in  this  untried  field  of  periodical 
literature.  A  few  prices  are,  therefore,  jotted  down 
from  memory,  and  without  regard  to  date,  not  as  the 
most  remarkable,  but  because  they  happen  to  occur, 
and  will  give  a  general  idea  of  the  great  cost  of  the 
best  order  of  animals.  Thus,  $10,000  were  paid  for 
Henry  ',  Zenith  and  Magnate  could  not  be  purchased 
for  $5,000  at  3  years  old.  Medoc,  one  of  the  very  best 
of  our  native  stallions,  was  said  to  be  worth  not  less 
than  $35,000  at  the  day  of  his  death.  Black  Maria 
was  sold  at  public  auction,  at  ^Nashville,  Tenn.,  for 
$4,000  when  thirteen  years  old.  Mary  Blunt  sold  for 
$6,000.  Altmf  for  $10,000  at  nine  years  of  age. 
Eodolph  for  $22,000.  For  Fashion,  $12,000  was 
asked,  and  so  on. 

Taking  into  account  all  the  associated  interests  of 
the  Eace-course,  its  numberless  auxiliaries  and  sur- 
roundings, one  cannot  fail  to  perceive  the  importance 
and  even  necessity  of  a  Journal  which  should  repre- 
sent the  condition  and  demands  of  an  interest  of  such 
pecuniary  magnitude  and  so  widely  extended,  and 
which  received  the  encouragement  and  support  of  men 
of  ih.Q  stamp  of  Col.  John  Tayloe,  John  Randolph, 


42  LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

Hoomes,  Selden,  and  Col.  William  E.  Johnson  of 
Virginia ;  Govs.  Ogle,  Ridgely,  Wright,  Lloyd,  and 
Sprigg  of  Maryland  ;  Messrs.  Hampton,  Washington, 
McPherson,  Alston,  and  Singleton  of  South  Carolina ; 
Gov.  Williams  and  Gen.  Carney  of  North  Carolina ; 
Gen.  Jackson  and  Gen.  Harding  of  Tennessee ;  Eich- 
ard  Smith,  Major  William  Jones,  and  the  Messrs.  Hall 
of  'New  York ;  the  Messrs.  Stevens  of  New  Jersey, 
and  hosts  of  other  honorable  men  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  beyond  our  ability  to  specify  in  a  work  of 
this  description.  They  gave  an  impulse  to  the  meet- 
ings of  Turfmen,  and  laid  the  fovmdation  of  that 
zeal  and  success,  in  the  improvement  of  the  breed  of 
horses,  wiiich  have  been  so  triumphantly  displayed. 

To  advocate  the  claims  of  such  a  cause  and  the 
interests  of  such  men,  Mr.  Porter  at  once  devoted  his 
time  and  strength. 

The  increased  interest  which  began  to  be  mani- 
fested in  regard  to  the  Turf  and  a  variety  of  out-of- 
door  athletic  sports  was  most  grateful  to  him,  and  we 
can  easily  imagine  the  satisfaction  with  which  he 
announced  the  spirited  action  of  the  New  York 
Jockey  Club,  in  the  very  paper  which  contained  his 
salutatory  address. 

Some  of  its  members  agreed  to  run  a  sweepstakes 
over  the  Union  Course  in  the  spring  of  1838  with 
fillies  and  colts  then  three  years  old.  Tlie  entrance  to 
be  $1,000,  and  the  forfeit  $250.  Distance,  mile 
heats.  Among  the  subscribers  were  Messrs.  W. 
Livingston,  R.  ToUotson,  J.  C.  Stevens,  W.  R.  John- 
son,  Jno.    C.    Craig,   S.    Ringold,   S.    Gouverneur, 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  43 

Wm.  Wynn,  A.  L.  Botts,  E.  F.  Stockton,  Wm.  H. 
Minge,  J.  II.  Wilkes,  K.  L.  Stevens,  John  Heth, 
R.  Eandolpli,  Wm.  Coleman,  John  M.  Botts,  A.  B. 
Meade,  Samuel  Laird,  J.  H.  Oliver  and  D.  W.  Jones, 
all  gentlemen  of  the  highest  respectability  and  public 
spirit. 

The  transactions  in  blooded  stock  during  the  year 
1836,  amounted  to  over  half  a  million  of  dollars,  and 
the  high  prices  obtained  for  that  of  superior  quality, 
indicated  the  fresh  impetus  which  had  been  given 
to  the  turf  in  this  country  by  men  of  wealth  and  in- 
fluence. 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year  Mr.  Porter  made  a 
visit  to  the  pine-clad  hills,  rich  prairies,  and  verdant 
valleys  of  the  south  and  west,  from  which  he  re- 
turned with  enlarged  and  enlightened  views  of 
the  character  and  condition  of  the  agricultural  dis- 
tricts, and  a  confirmed  appreciation  of  the  care  and 
attention  given  to  the  raising  of  fine  stock,  whether 
of  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  or  sheep.  The  number,  value, 
and  improvement  of  blood  horses  for  the  ordinary 
purposes  of  life,  or  destined  for  the  chase  or  the  turf; 
the  management  of  race-courses  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
prominent  cities,  and  their  large  and  liberal  clubs,  as 
well  as  the  whole  system  of  racing,  with  all  its  ramifi- 
cations, enlisted  his  acute  powers  of  observation. 
Of  the  many  courses,  jockey  clubs,  and  associa- 
tions of  the  South,  he  was  especially  delighted  with 
the  "Hampton  Course,"  at  Augusta,  Ga,,  and  the 
"  Hampton  Court  Stud ;"  the  latter,  he  says,  "  rivalling 
that  of  his  late  majesty,  and  containing  more  stock 


44  LIFE   OF   WILLIAISI   T.    POKTEE. 

bred  at  the  Eoyal  Stud,  than  any  other  in  the  Union," 
and  the  former  receiving  its  name  "  in  honor  of  a 
gentleman  whose  ennobling  talents  and  public  spirit, 
more  than  his  princely  fortune,  have  placed  him  at 
the  head  of  the  Turf  in  Carolina  and  Georgia."  Of 
Emily ^  owned  by  Col.  Hampton,  and  out  of  Elizabeth, 
by  Rainbow,  bred  by  his  late  Majesty  William  lY., 
at  the  Eoyal  Stud  at  Hampton  Court,  and  imported 
into  South  Carolina  by  his  present  owner,  he  writes 
with  characteristic  enthusiasm  :  "  She  is  a  beautiful 
bay  with  a  star  and  a  stripe,  about  fifteen  hands  and 
one  inch,  and  presents  a  most  striking  resemblance  to 
Ackerman's  superb  colored  engraving  of  the  Queen 
of  Trumps.  Her  head  is  faultless,  a  jDerfect  non- 
pareil, and  her  eye  and  face  beam  Avith  intelligence. 
Her  limbs  are  as  finely  modelled  as  those  of  the  fair 
representative  of  '/on,'  and  her  beautiful  pastern 
joints  remind  one  of  the  delicate  and  well-turned 
ankle  of  la  petite  Augusta!  Her  proportions  are 
almost  perfect;  her  shoulder  is  broad  and  oblique, 
running  well  back,  and  she  is  also  very  fine  across 
the  loins.  Her  hocks,  knees,  and  feet  are  also  good, 
especially  the  first,  which  come  well  down  to  the 
ground.  Altogether  she  is  as  game  a  looking  filly  as 
can  be  seen  in  a  year's  travel." 

Of  Missouri,  he  writes :  "  She  is  a  chestnut,  under 
fifteen  hands  high,  and  very  well  put  up ;  a  small 
star  is  her  only  white  natural  mark.  Her  dam  was  a 
tip-top  Director  mare.  She  was  bred  by  Gen.  Broad- 
nax  of  Virginia,  and  has  been  thrice  a  winner  since 
she  made  her  debut  last  spring.     While  we  were  ex- 


LIFE   OF  WILLLAJSI   T.    PORTER.  45 

amining  her  in  her  stable,  at  Augusta,  her  owner  re- 
marked, '  Give  her  a  name,  Mr.  Porter.'  '  Well,' 
said  we,  '  call  her  after  a  fine  State  and  a  charming 
woman  who  bears  the  same  name,  and  call  her  Mis- 
souri."^ '  I  don't  know  much  about  the  State,''  replied 
McCargo,  '  but  if  you  know  a  pretty  woman  of  that 
name,  why  Missouri  it  shall  be.'  " 

On  his  return  from  the  South  he  wrote  : 

"  After  a  surrender  of  the  editorial  seat  for  some  weeks,  we 
mount  the  box,  and  gather  up  the  ribbons  of  our  darling  turn-out. 
"Were  we  not  quite  up  to  the  mark  in  condition,  we  should  fear 
being  distanced  upon  again  entering  upon  our  duties.  For  a 
period  of  nearly  seven  years,  we  have  held  the  reins  and  guided 
the  fleet  coursers  that  have  drawn  this  sheet  from  the  realms  of 
darkness  into  regions  of  light,  from  an  inauspicious  and  gloomy 
beginning  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  wide-spread  patronage.  Seven 
years  since,  a  mere  boy,  unknown  and  unaided,  we  started  the 
project  of  a  Sporting  paper.  Trammelled  by  circumstances, 
retarded  by  inexperience,  we  groped  our  way  slowly  into  those 
Southern  and  Western  regions  of  our  country,  where  the  sports 
we  advocate  were  more  generally  appreciated  and  more  liberally 
encouraged.  To  gratify  our  most  earnest  desire  to  visit  these 
portions  of  the  Union,  and  to  make  ourselves  perfectly  acquainted 
with  the  gentlemen,  the  country,  and  the  various  interests  in- 
volved in  the  Sports  of  the  Turf,  we  took  our  leave  in  Novem- 
ber, and  most  advantageously  employed  three  months  in  the 
pleasing  survey.  What  shall  we  say  of  the  receptions  which 
everywhere  awaited  us?  What  shall  we  write  that  is  not 
already  known  of  the  unbounded  hospitality  that  everywhere 
pervades  that  section  of  the  Union,  and  which  was  absolutely 
bestowed  upon  us  in  a  manner  at  once  so  elegant  and  so  bounti- 
ful, that  the  mere  acknowledgment  of  the  grateful  compliment 
fills  our  throat  and  eyes  with  the  emotion  its  remembrance  must 
ever  excite  ?  From  Baltimore  to  Wheeling,  thence  to  Cincinnati, 
thence   to  Louisville,  and  thence   to   Vicksburg,  Katchcz,    St. 


46  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK. 

Francisville,  and  New  Orleans,  our  journey  was  chequered  by 
the  most  flattering  attentions.  At  New  Orleans,  we  had  the 
happiness  to  renew  old  intimacies  and  create  new  ones  in  a  wide 
circle  of  gentlemen  who  are  unsurpassed  for  their  elegant  and 
refined  hospitality.  Our  visit  among  that  gallant  throng  of 
friends  to  the  Turf,  occurred  during  their  great  annual  Jockey 
Club  meeting,"  (of  which  Judge  Alexander  Porter  was  President,) 
"  and  long  shall  we  retain  the  impression  of  their  courteous 
bearing  amid  the  excitements  of  the  race;  their  bland  and 
gracious  freedom  at  the  Club,  and  their  mirthful  reminiscences 
of  the  fortunes  of  the  day.  On  our  return,  we  traversed  the 
entire  range  of  the  Southern  States,  pausing  here  and  there  amid 
hospitalities  that  often  well-nigh  allured  us  to  outstay  the  boun- 
teous welcome  we  universally  received." 

In  reference  to  the  "magnificent  stud"  of  Col. 
Hampton,  be  writes  : 

"  The  excess  of  his  choice  blood  stock,  native  or  imported, 
whether  consisting  of  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep,  is  seldom  or  never 
sold,  but  from  motives  the  most  patriotic  distributed  among  those 
of  his  friends  not  engaged  in  breeding,  who  will  rear  them  with 
attention.  If,  as  some  writer  has  forcibly  remarked,  he  is  en- 
titled to  the  esteem  of  mankind  who  causes  two  blades  of  grass 
to  grow  where  one  blade  grew  before,  what  amount  of  commen- 
dation does  he  not  merit  who  thus  dispenses  a  princely  fortune 
in  perfecting  the  breed  and  ameliorating  the  condition  of  the 
most  useful  and  invaluable  of  animals,  and  so  materially  contrib- 
utes to  the  interests  and  general  enjoyment  of  the  community." 

During  the  editor's  absence  at  the  South,  his 
brother  George,  who  was  bis  junior  by  four  years, 
undertook  to  supply  his  place ;  as  be  had  not  before 
wandered  far  from  his  chosen  path  of  the  law,  and 
bad  but  a  very  limited  knowledge  of  the  specialty  of 
bis  brother,  it  was  to  him  a  task  of  great  labor  and 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE.  47 

anxiety.  In  one  of  liis  letters  now  before  me,  dated 
February  17,  1838,  be  writes  :  "Eejoice  with  me  for 
my  labors  are  at  last  over.  William  is  at  home  again 
and  has  now  nominally  and  actually  relieved  me  from 
care  and  trouble.  The  first  number  of  the  new  volume 
is  at  last  out,  and  henceforth  William  will  sail  his 
own  ship." 

George  Porter  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 
1831,  with  distinguished  honor,  and  had,  besides  his 
admitted  intellectual  eminence,  quite  a  reputation  for 
oratorical  ability ;  one  of  several  prizes  which  he  re- 
ceived for  superior  declamation,  while  yet  an  under- 
graduate, is  in  my  possession.  On  the  completion 
of  his  collegiate  course,  he  commenced  the  study  of 
the  law  with  George  Brinkerhoff,  Esq.,  of  New  York, 
and  remained  with  him  until  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  when  he  opened  an  office  in  that  city,  with  ardent 
aspirations  for  distinction  in  his  profession.  In  the 
autumn  of  1836,  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  become  a 
partner  of  the  Hon.  Edward  Curtis  and  his  brother, 
Geo.  Curtis,  Esq.,  who  were  engaged  in  a  varied  and 
extensive  practice.  Preserving  his  literary  tastes  and 
resorting  to  them  as  a  relaxation  from  the  engrossing 
cares  of  his  office,  he  occasionally  wrote  for  his 
brother's  paper ;  and  as  already  stated,  at  one  time 
undertook  its  entire  management ;  not  only  its  liter- 
ary department,  but  its  fiscal  afiairs  fell  under  his 
temporary,  but  exclusive  control.  With  the  latter  he 
became  so  complicated  that,  in  the  end,  he  felt  obliged 
to  withdraw  from  his  legal  engagements  that  he  might 
devote  himself  exclusively  to  the  task  of  sustaining 


48  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

the  fortunes  of  the  "  Spirit, 
bankruptcy  and  discouragement :  a  fancied,  not  a 
real  necessity,  as  we  believe  ;  and  the  more  to  be 
regretted  on  that  account.  Had  he  continued  in  his 
profession,  with  one-half  the  persevering  industry 
which  he  exhibited  while  connected  with  the  press, 
he  must  have  risen  to  eminence,  for  he  had  the  ele- 
ments of  success  in  him  to  an  uncommon  degree. 
His  mind  was  clear,  comprehensive,  and  quick ;  his 
power  of  abstraction  and  application  very  great ;  his 
manner  of  speech  strong  and  emotional  ;  while  the 
responsive  play  of  his  fine  and  expressive  face,  im- 
parted an  indescribable  charm  to  what  fell  from  his 
lips. 

The  origin  of  the  playful  sobriquet,  "  York's  tall 
son,"  which  first  became  in  1837  a  favorite  and  fa- 
miliar title  applied  to  William,  adding  another  to  the 
many  memorable  cases  in  which  a  pointed  verbal 
phrase  sometimes  becomes  incorporated  into  the  pop- 
ular vocabulary,  was  the  result  of  a  private  incident 
of  no  interest  whatever  disconnected  from  the  hero 
liimself;  But  from  its  still  living  hold  npon  the 
hearts  of  those  who  loved  him,  as  expressive  of  his 
lofty  stature  as  well  as  of  his  popularity  in  the  city 
of  his  adoption,  its  history  is  worth  preserving,  inas- 
much as  one  of  his  few  characteristic  letters  is  bound 
up  with  its  origin.  Some  time  during  the  year  1836, 
Miss  Clifton  ofiered,  through  the  columns  of  "The 
Spirit,"  the  sum  of  $1,000  for  a  Tragedy,  "  adapted  to 
lier  histrionic  acquirements."  This  met  the  eye  of 
the  younger  sister  of  Mr.  Porter,  and  prompted  her 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  49 

to  address  a  letter  to  him,  dated  January  13,  1837, 
and  found  among  his  papers  after  his  decease.  She 
goes  on  to  say : 

"  You  may  perhaps  be  aware  that  I  have  long  been  a  wor- 
shipper at  the  shrine  of  the  Muses.  They  sometimes  smile  upon 
me  with  a  friendly  spirit  of  encouragement,  and  now  have 
deigned  to  inspire  me  with  the  ambitious  scheme  of  winning 
the  prize  for  the  best  American  tragedy  suited  to  the  peculiar 
genius  of  Miss  Clifton.  As  you  are  one  of  the  number  selected  to 
examine  the  efibrts  of  the  aspirants,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  commit 
to  your  hand  the  following  extracts  fi-om  my  unfinished  tragedy 
of  Hophir : 

Act  1st,  Scene  1st,  Copenhagen. — An  Apartment  in  GynetKs  Bower. 

Gyneth.     Fold  up  the  curtain,  Ina, 
And  let  the  crimson  morn  burst  on  my  aching  vision. 
Sleep  has  kiss'd  his  last  farewell  to  me. 
And  time  drags  weary  oflf. 

Ina.     Holy  Mother  save  thee !  mistress  Gyneth, 
And  teach  thee  patience  to  endure  the  frowns 
Of  fortune.     Ne'er  repine — 
Three  more  suns  must  set, 
And  Gyneth's  bosom  will  thrill 
With  deeper  joy  than 

Gyneth.     How  !  what !     Say  you  that  he, 
The  Lord  of  Porter — will  be  here  ? 

Ina.     Yes,  sweet  lady, — 
He  of  six  feet  lineage,  and  gilded  crow-quill, 
Was,  by  the  artifice  of  a  "  Oirl  Up  Town^'' 
JReleas'd  from  prison.     A  carrier-bird 
Dropp'd  at  my  feet  this  morn 
These  perfumed  stanzas,  which  unsuspecting, 
Eagerly  I  traced : 

*'  Dear  Gyneth,  to  thy  arms  I  fly, 
Tho'  wardour's  tower  be  steep  and  high. 
And  maelstroms  fill  the  air ; 

3 


60  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

Not  unicorn,  or  tusked  boar, 
Shall  keep  me  from  my  true  love  more, 
The  brightest  of  the  fair. 

For  thee  I'll  curl  my  twisted  crest — 
For  thee  I'll  wear  my  "  yarllerest''^  vest, 

My  stiffest  collar,  too  ; 
My  standard  with  Propontic  fury, 
I'll  wave  on  top  of  Alpine  Jura, 
~    Then  fleet,  my  love,  to  you. 

Then  haste  my  pye-bald,  gallant  steed. 
Thro'  rushing  stream  and  verdant  mead, 

And  make  thy  nostrils  snort ; 
While  I  for  love  and  my  ador'd 
Poise  the  tall  lance,  grasp  high  the  sword, 

And  peal  aloud  Le  Mort !  " 

Gtneth.     Hand  o'er  the  Hues, 
And  let  my  burning  eye-balls  trace  the  hand 
Of  him  I  love.     Yes,  'tis  true,  bis  own  lov'd  signet. 
Haste  thee,  Ina,  and  bid  old  Gaffer 
Set  in  preparation  all  things  fit,  of  mirth, 
And  song,  and  joyous  cheer,  to  greet 
The  near  approach  of  York's  tall  son.  [Exit  Ina. 

Scene  II. — Moonlight. 
[Jlophir  appears  on  the  top  of  a  dilapidated  tower.} 
HoPHiR.     Moon, — cold,  loco-foco  moon,  I  loathe  thy  light ; 
Thou  who  dost  shine  upon  the  sea  and  sand 
Alike  indifferent — who  round  the  rugged  world  rolls 
Rapid  on  in  rotatory  revolution, 
Like  a  green  cheese  upon  the  deep  above, — 
Thou  marrest  all  my  schemes,  betraying  moon ! 
Thy  silvery  beams  disclose  my  wisest  plans. 
Shut  out  thy  light — stars  hide  your  rays — 
I  hate  ye — aye,  as  fervent  as  I  hate 
The  blue-eyed  lord  of  her  whom  my  heart  loves. 


LITE    OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  51 

Yes !  shake  ye  fountains  !  freeze  ye  gelid  skies, 
I  am  for  Patagonian  revels,  and  the  throne — 
Beauty  and  wealth  wave  o'er  me.     Speed  my  aim 
Ye  powers  of  air,  who  live  in  the  blue  flame  ! 
On  Hophir's  brow  let  fall  the  crown  of  gold ! 
My  name  is  Haynes — I'm  off,  or  I  shall  catch  a  cold 
Upon  this  turret — or,  perhaps,  the  jaunders. 
Because  I've  left  mv  wig  for  curling  at  that  Saunders. 

[Uxit  HoPHiR. 

"New  Toek,  April  S,  1S37. 
"Dear  Sister  Sarah 

"Will  hardly  credit  me  when  I  assure  her,  that  ia  my  card- 
rack  over  my  desk  is  a  letter  addressed  to  herself,  that  was 
■written  weeks  upon  weeks  since ;  but  pity  'tis,  'tis  true.  The  fact 
was,  after  I  had  taken  a  deal  of  pains  to  write  a  famous  letter  as 
long  as  your  arm,  or  my  boot,  I  very  promiscuously  misdirected 
it  as  Paul  Pry  would  say,  whereat  George  laughed  so  much,  that 
I,  in  a  huff,  expunged  it,  by  drawing  black  lines  across  the  face, 
and  every  day  since  have  been  thinking  of  re-writing  it.  Iltitre 
nous,  I  have  now  and  then  something  to  do,  or  your  dear  letter 
and  charming  communication  would,  despite  my  carelessness, 
have  been  acknowledged  long  since.  As  it  is,  after  frankly- 
pleading  guilty  ctf  unpardonable  inattention,  I  throw  myself  upon 
the  mercy  of  the  court,  after  first  engaging  your  husband  as  my 
counsellor,  who,  I  trust,  will  bribe  the  judge  (with  a  kiss)  to  let 
the  defendant  off  with  a  reprimand  on  promise  of  future  good 
behavior. 

"  You  cannot  conceive,  my  darling  Sis,  of  the  pleasure  your 
letter  excited  in  us.  I  say  '  us,'  for  I  speak  not  only  for  myself, 
but  for  my  ten  thousand  readers.  You,  of  course,  have  seen  it 
immortalized  and  preserved  in  '  Spirit,'  and  pi'obably  have  won^ 
dered  at  my  gazetting  you  among  the  Staels,  the  Landons,  and 
though  last,  not  least  in  our  dear  love,  the  Trollopes  of  the  19th 
century.  Such  a  laugh  as  the  Clifton  and  Dr.  Pangloss  of  all  the 
Porters  had  over  it !  She  really  screamed  over  '  York's  tall  son,' 
and  vows  to  embody  it  in   some    love-lorn   soliloquy.      She 


52  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   T.    POETEE. 

declares  that  not  one  of  the  veritable  tragedies  oflFered  for  her 
$1,000  prize  are  comparable  with  it,  and,  i'  faith,  she  speaks  truth, 
for  I  have  read  them— a  paragraph  each— and  had  I  not  been 
predestined  a  dunce,  I  should  have  caught  the  infection  of  their 
stupidity.  The  Doctor— the  hearty  old  cock— strutted  about 
like  a  hen  with  one  chick,  as  if  he  knew  more  of  the  authorship 
of  '  Hophir  *  than  he  really  did.  He  carried  the  original  manu- 
script in  his  pocket  until  worn  to  shreds,  and  then  supplied  him- 
self with  about  a  dozen  and  one  over  of  copies,  the  Avhich  were 
crammed  one  in  each  pocket,  another  in  his  hat,  and  for  what  I 
know,  one  in  each  boot.  These  he  read  to  everybody,  making 
a  holiday  for  his  scholars,  while  he  himself,  like  Leigh  Hunt's 
pig,  went  up  all  manner  of  streets,  radiant  with  the  quips  and 
quirks  of  the  sentimental  '  Gyneth,'  winning  raptures  of  applause 
by  the  emphasis  and  discretion,  the  grace  and  dignity,  the  pathos 
and  feeling,  the  taste  and  humor  with  which  he  invested  the 
life-drawn  pictures  of  the  amiable  princess  and  chivalrous  '  Lord 
of  Porter ! '  Miss  Clifton  and  myself  were  about  rehearsing  it  one 
night,  and  should,  but  that  instead  of  catching  her,  I  was  like  to 
catch  a  cold,  so  that  throwing  aside  the  maiden  delicacy  of  '  Gy- 
neth,' she  opened  the  portals,  let  fall  the  drawbridge,  and  invited 
the  '  Tall  Son '  above  mentioned  '  to  come  in  to  supper,'  when, 
what  with  her  oysters  and  beauty,  champagne  and  wit,  pretty 
eyes  and  olives,  Erench  rolls,  ardent  sympathies,  and  capital  cook, 
'  the  original  tragedy  of  Hophir  '  was  shelved.  When  the  warm 
weather  comes— some  fervid  night  in  the  dog-days— she  has 
promised  and  agreed  to  order  a  tremendous  bowl  of  lemonade, 
when  we  are  to  rehearse  the  same  with  becoming  gravity  and 
spirit. 

»  E.'s  new-born  girl  is  a  cherub !— I  haven't  let  her  fall  but 
tjvice  ;— the  image  of  her  uncle  William,  and  strange  to  tell,  born 
without  teeth.  I've  named  her  already,  just  to  put  her  aunts  out 
of  all  pain  on  that  accoimt,  Frances,  Bentimia,  Sarah-phina, 
Wilhelmina,  Georgiana,  Seton,  Startin,  Brinley  Torter. 

"  Now,  my  darling  S.,  do  write  me  often.  The  Doctor  and 
George  are  so  occupied  as  to  give  me  no  assistance  whatever,  and 
with  the  sole  charge  of  my  paper  and  its  thousand  cares  upon 


LIFE   OF    WILLLA3I   T.    P0RTP:R.  53 

my  hands,  cares  of  which  you  have  no  idea — obliged  to  write  on 
subjects,  and  hiowingly,  of  which  I  have  little  practical  knowl- 
edge, my  time  is  incessantly  occupied.  My  correspondents  are 
immensely  numerous,  and  compel  my  prompt  response,  but  they 
are  necessary  to  the  success  of  my  paper,  which,  by  the  by,  is 
doing  gloriously, 

"  With  best  love  to  F.,  believe  me  your  devoted 

"Beothee  William." 


51  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 


CHAPTER    III. 

Lsr  the  spring  of  1839,  a  meeting  of  gentlemen  took 
place  at  the  Astor  House,  for  the  purpose  of  infusing 
fresh  life  and  spirit  into  ^Northern  Racing,  by  the  for- 
mation of  a  new  club  for  the  Union  Course ;  under 
whose  auspices  the  year  commenced  with  every  ap- 
pearance of  a  successful  season  in  all  sections  of  the 
country.  A  post  match,  for  $20,000,  was  concluded  to 
come  off  over  the  E'ewmarket  Course,  in  Yirginia. 
Great  preparations  were  made  for  races  over  the  Course 
at  Trenton,  N  J.,  and  elsewhere,  and  a  produce  Stake 
with  a  subscription  of  $2,000  each,  $400  forfeit,  two 
miles  heat,  to  be  called  "  The  Hampton  Stake,"  was 
projected. 

Commodore  Ridgley  was  re-elected  President ; 
Messrs.  John  A.  King,  John  C.  Stevens,  H.  "Wilkes, 
and  James  Foster,  Yice  Presidents ;  Messrs.  Henry 
K.  Toler,  Gouverneur  Kortwright,  Wm.  K.  Gaston, 
and  Gerard  L.  Coster,  Stewards  of  the  ISTew  York 
Jockey  Club,  and  its  organization  was  celebrated  by  a 
dinner  at  the  Astor  House. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  55 

Mr.  King  presided,  and  eloquently  addressed  the 
company  upon  the  object  of  the  meeting.  A  Club 
was  formed  for  three  years.  "  The  song,  the  toast, 
and  the  enlivening  story  succeeded  each  other ;  and 
as  the  circling  glass  went  round,  flowing  bumpers 
were  pledged  to  the  good  men  and  true  of  the  South 
and  West,  and  heel-taps  discolored  no  goblets  quaffed 
to  the  Sports  of  the  Turf." 

Mr.  Porter  was  of  opinion  that  there  should  be  a 
tribunal  of  some  sort,  to  which  the  various  Jockey 
Clubs,  as  well  as  individuals,  could  resort  for  the  ad- 
justment of  controverted  questions,  and  in  a  strong 
appeal  in  favor  of  a  Turf  Convention,  he  says : 

"  So  desirable  do  we  deem  a  convention  of  the  friends  of  the 
Turf  with  a  view  to  the  adoption  of  a  uniform  code  of  rides,  and 
the  establishment  of  a  Court  of  Appeal  for  doubtful  points,  that 
we  should  gladly  advocate  it  with  such  ability  as  we  could  com- 
mand, had  the  project  not  found  an  able  supporter  in  the  gentle- 
man who  first  suggested  it.  The  proposition  is  worthy  of  the 
most  serious  consideration  of  turfmen.  The  permanent  well- 
being  of  the  turf  depends  not  alone  upon  one,  or  two  Jockey  Clubs 
or  States.  The  character  of  all  sportsmen  suffers  by  every  act 
of  injustice,  or  by  any  suspicion  of  unfair  management  that  may 
be  attached  to  the  rQost  insignificant  club  or  association.  The 
direct  method  of  avoiding  the  hazard  of  foul  play,  and  any  pur- 
pose of  it,  is  the  creation  of  a  tribunal,  the  power  of  which  may 
be  brought  to  bear  directly  upon  all  clubs  foi-med,  as  auxiliary  to 
it,  or  with  an  acknowledgment  of  its  jurisdiction ;  and  indirectly^ 
as  by  exclusion,  upon  all  other  clubs.  There  would  be  no  hazard 
of  conflicting  jurisdictions,  for  in  associations  for  the  promotion 
of  sport,  and  the  improvement  of  the  breed  of  horses,  there  are 
no  diverse  interests  to  be  concerned,  no  sectional  jealousies  to 
allay  ;  it  is  our  pride,  that  in  the  pleasures  of  the  turf,  common 


56  LIFE   OF   WILLIAJSI   T.    POETER. 

sense  and  manly  amusement  are  the  only  ends  of  association, 
and  perfect  honor  the  principle  of  constitution. 

"  A  board  of  umpires,  or  a  central  Jockey  Club,  which  should 
give  law  in  general  questions  to  the  local  clubs,  could  by  no 
possibility  be  actuated  by  motives  of  interest ;  composed  as  it 
would  be  of  gentlemen  of  the  highest  moral  worth,  from  different 
sections  of  the  coimtry,  the  local  influence  of  an  individual,  which 
sometimes  tyrannizes  in  a  small  association,  is  neutralized,  or 
stripped  of  all  power  save  that  which  integrity  of  purpose,  and 
intelligence  as  to  means,  should  ever  command. 

"  To  pm-sue  in  the  details  the  advantages  which  would  accrue 
from  the  formation  of  an  '  American  Jockey  Club,'  would  take 
us  beyond  the  limits  we  had  marked  out  for  this  discussion,  or 
trench  upon  the  ground  covered  by  our  correspondent  in  the 
following,  and  in  a  preceding  letter.  A  uniformity  of  decision 
as  to  Betting,  general  rules  governing  the  Entrances  to  Stakes, 
and  the  Payment  of  Forfeits,  a  more  uniform  Adjustment  of 
Weights,  a  strict  Eegulation  of  Eunuing  Heats, — these  are  obvious 
and  palpable  results  of  a  Turf  Convention,  which  should  provide 
us  with  a  constitution  for  '  The  American  Jockey  Club.'  But 
by  far  the  most  commanding  consideration  upon  our  own  minds, 
is  the  respectability  and  dignity  which  it  would  confer  upon  the 
Sports  of  the  Turf,  in  the  United  States.  To  the  'Jockey  Club ' 
in  England,  and  the  consideration  commanded  by  its  members  in 
general  society,  by  their  wealth,  by  their  intelligence,  and  by 
their  moral  worth,  is  to  be  attributed  the  high  and  palmy  state 
of  the  Turf  in  Great  Britain.  Racing  is  the  National  Sport  of 
that  country,  and  so  will  it  continue  to  be,  as  long  as  its  manly 
pleasures,  so  natural  to  man,  and  especially  to  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race,  shall  be  hedged  in  from  abuse,  or  the  suspicion  of  abuse,  by 
an  Association  of  Gentlemen,  sans  peur  et  sans  reproche. 

"  Will  not  turfmen  be  persuaded  to  give  tlie  subject  their  atten- 
tion, and  commune  together  upon  the  practicability  and  the 
propriety  of  the  preliminary  step — a  Turf  Convention,  to  be  held 
next  winter  at  Washington  ?  That  city  is  named  by  us,  because 
it  has  been  suggested  by  the  originator  of  the  whole  plan  in  his 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  57 

letter  from  ISTatcliez,  becfiuse  Congress  will  then  be  in  session, 
and  because  general  political  conventions  are  to  be  held  tliere, 
or  at  a  city  still  further  North,  during  the  approaching  session. 
And  may  we  not  further  call  upon  gentlemen,  for  the  expression 
of  their  views  upon  the  whole  proposition, — persuaded  that 
whatever  may  be  the  decision  as  to  the  precise  plan  marked  out 
by  our  correspondent,  a  general  discussion  of  the  subject  will 
inevitably  promote  the  interests  and  the  respectability  of  the 
Turf? " 

Contemporaneous  with  tliis  suggestion,  sprung  up 
a  controversy  upon  tlie  question  :  "  Is  a  bet  naming 
two  horses  against  the  field,  void,  if  one  of  the  horses 
named  fail  to  start  ?  "  Here  was  a  case  where  a 
common,  recognized,  appellate  tribunal  could  be 
profitably  appealed  to.  A  correspondent  of  the 
"  Spirit,"  J.  K.  D.,  assuming  as  a  maxim  that  a  bet 
must  stand  in  all  cases,  unless  made  void  by  its  terms, 
or  one  party  has  no  chance  to  win,  his  communi- 
cation elicited  this  response  from  the  pen  of  George 
Porter : 

"  In  reading  the  communications  of  '  J.  K.  D.,'  we  are 
reminded  of  our  college  days,  when  we  had  to  battle  it  with  the 
Moral  Philosophy  Prof,  about  'Edwards  on  the  Will.'  The 
logic  of  the  old  divine  was  too  subtle  for  young  minds,  and  ad- 
mitting his  reasonable  premises,  he  would  straightway  hurry  you 
into  conclusions,  accurately  deduced  therefrom,  which  revolted 
your  moral  sense,  though  you  could  discover  no  way  of  escape 
from  them.  So  it  is  with  our  con-espondent,  he  maintains  his 
position  with  such  dexterity  and  cogency,  that  it  appears  im- 
possible to  dislodge  him,  though  we  are  satisfied  that  the  position 
is  a  false  one.  We  will  make  one  efibrt  more  to  set  ourselves 
right,  both  with  '  J.  K.  D.'  and  our  readers. 

"  The  whole  argument  of  '  J.  K.  D.'  is  built  upon  this  as- 
sumption, that  a  bet  must  stand  in  all  cases,  unless  it  is  made 


58  LIFE   OF   WILLTAJVI   T.    POKTEE. 

void  by  its  express  terms,  or  unless  one  farty  has  no  chance  to 
win.  On  this  latter  clause  bangs  all  tbe  controversy.  We  give 
to  it  this  interpretation,  tbat  a  bet  shall  stand  when  the  party  has 
the  chance  to  win  named  in  the  let,  or  which  was  in  the  reason- 
able contemplation  of  both  parties.  That  is,  if  I  bet  on  a  horse, 
I  am  entitled  to  the  chance  of  his  starting  ;  if  I  name  two  horses, 
I  am  entitled  to  the  chance  of  their  both  starting,  and  not  one 
of  them ;  by  the  expresss  terms  of  the  bet,  I  name  two  horses, 
and  not  one  of  two.  'J.  K.  D.'  says  no;  if  but  one  of  the 
horses  start,  you  have  a  chance  to  win,  and  therefoi'e  the  bet 
must  stand.     Here  is  the  sole  point  at  issue. 

"  The  burden  of  proof  lies  not  upon  us,  but  upon  '  J.  K.  D.' 
I  name  two  horses,  and  I  am  certainly  entitled  to  the  two,  unless 
'  J.  K.  D.'  can  cite  a  rule  which  shall  say  that  one  of  the  two  is 
enough  to  satisfy  the  requisitions  of  the  bet.  But  there  is  no 
such  rule  in  express  terms. 

"  But  '  J.  K.  D.'  says  that  the  maxim  governs  all  betting,  that 
a  bet  must  stand  when  there  is  a  chance  to  win.  And  yet  there 
is  an  express  rule,  that  where  one  horse  is  betted  on,  and  fails  to 
start,  the  bet  is  off.  Now,  what  is  the  use  of  such  a  rule  if  the 
maxim  of  '  J.  K.  D.'  actually  governs  all  betting,  as  he  inteiyrets 
that  maxim  ?    It  would  be  plainly  useless — mere  surplusage. 

"  We  do  not  insist  upon  a  vague  and  uncertain  rule,  but  a 
rule  fixed  and  reasonable,  a  rule  like  that  which  governs  all  con- 
tracts, all  transactions  between  man  and  man.  The  bettor  should 
have  that  chance  to  win  which  he  reserved  by  the  express  terms 
3f  his  bet,  or  which  is  fairly  to  be  inferred  from  its  terms.  If  I 
dame  Mingo  in  a  race,  Mingo  must  start,  or  it  is  no  bet ;  if  I 
/lame  Mingo  and  Post  Boy,  Mingo  and  Post  Boy,  not  Mingo  or 
Post  Boy,  must  start,  or  it  is  no  bet.  This  is  reasonable,  this  is 
common  sense,  and  this  is  law,  unless  'J.  K.  D.'  can  cite  an  ex- 
press rule  to  the  contrary. 

"  There  is  no  need  of  '  J.  K.  D.'s '  maxim,  if  he  will  give  it  the 
interpretation  for  which  we  contend,  and  that  is  the  reason  why 
it  cannot  be  found  in  the  betting  codes.  A  bet  must  stand,  of 
course,  when  there  is  a  chance  to  win, — that  is,  the  chance  named, 
the  chance  which  each  party  knows  the  other  betted  on,— or,  in 


LITE   OF   WILLIAIVI   T.    TOKTEK.  59 

case  of  dispute,  the  chance  which  a  Court  or  Jockey  Chib  would 
infer  from  the  express  words  of  the  bet,  to  be  the  chance  bet- 
ted on. 

"  Now  in  what  way  can  I  more  surely  signify  my  intention 
of  betting  on  two  horses  (not  P.  P.)  than  by  naming  ttco, — not 
one,  nor  one  of  two,  but  two  ?  Now  the  chance  on  which  I  bet  is 
the  chance  of  having  two  horses  start ;  there  is  no  uncertainty 
about  it,  no  vagueness,  such  as  '  would  annul  all  bets.'  Nothing 
is  said  in  the  bet  about  the  condition  of  the  horses,  or  of  the 
track,  nor  of  the  ownership  of  the  horse,  and,  therefore,  nothing 
is  to  be  inferred  on  those  points  as  being  '  the  chance  on  which 
I  betted ; '  but  it  is  certainly  a  fair  inference,  and  a  clear,  un- 
doubted one,  that  two  horses  must  start.  Again  we  say,  the 
burden  of  proof  lies  upon  the  other  side. 

"  There  does  not  appear  to  us  to  be  room  for  much  argument 
here.  It  is  a  simple  proposition :  '  Does  betting  on  two  horses 
entitle  me  to  two,  or  one  of  the  two  ? '  "We  hold  the  two,  and 
'  J.  K.  D.'  '  one  of  the  two.'  But  in  the  course  of  this  newspaper 
writing,  many  cases  have  been  put  to  illustrate  the  hardship  of 
the  rule,  construe  it  which  way  you  will.  These  are,  of  course, 
but  illustrations.  '  J.  K.  D.'  has  the  benefit  of  the  last  case, 
which  certainly  seems  hard,  but  so  confident  are  we  of  the 
security  of  our  position,  that  we  shall  rest  here,  without  an 
effort  to  suppose  a  harder  case,  a  more  flagrant  instance. 

"  But  it  is  proper,  before  quitting  the  subject,  to  deprive  '  J. 
K.  D.'  of  the  appearance  of  an  advantage,  which  he  derives  from 
his  illustration  of  a  bettor  on  '  the  field.'  He  says  that  in  the 
Louisville  sweepstakes  of  ten  nominations,  the  man  who  names 
five  of  them  against  '  the  field  '  should  be  in  no  better  situation 
than  he  who  takes  the  field.  He  might  just  as  reasonably  con- 
tend that  a  bet  was  unfair  should  a  man  name  one  P.  P.  in  that 
stake  against  the  field.  There  would  be  no  unfairness  in  such  a 
bet ;  it  would  surely  show  that  one  of  the  bettors  was  a  fool. 
Mark  the  want  of  candor  in  '  J.  K.  D.'s  '  argument  here.  There 
is  a  positive,  written  rule,  defining  '  the  field.'  Every  bettor  is 
supposed  to  know  that  rule,  and  that  by  the  terms  of  it,  if  he 
back  '  the  field,'  he  may  be  reduced  to  one  horse.    Now,  because 


60  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM  T.    POKTEK. 

a  man  is  silly  enough  to  take  '  the  field  '  against  half  the  entries 
in  a  sweepstakes  named  expressly^  'J.  K.  D.'  cries  out  unfairness. 
He  should  rather  cry  out  upon  the  folly  of  his  field  bettor, 
"What,  in  Heaven's  name,  was  the  need  of  a  rule  defining  a  '  field,' 
if  naming  two  or  more  horses  amounted  to  the  same  thing?  It 
is  a  term  purely  technical,  like  'Play  or  Pay,'  and  as  he  who 
names  the  field  is  by  rule  entitled  to  one  horse  at  all  events,  be- 
cause he  stipulates  for  one  horse  by  the  terms  of  his  bet,  so  he 
who  stipulates  for  two  horses,  or  for  forty  horses,  is  entitled  to 
them,  if  there  be  any  meaning  in  language,  and  any  man  rash 
enough  to  bet  against  forty  named  horses. 

"  Since  the  above  was  written,  we  have  received  another 
long  communication  on  this  subject,  maintaining  our  side  of  the 
question.  We  give  place  to  a  portion  of  it ;  several  heads  of  it, 
however,  we  omit,  as  they  seem  calculated  to  provoke  further 
discussion,  though  really  very  good.  "We  thank  '  D.  E.'  for  his 
assistance,  and  beg  him  to  excuse  us  for  so  abbreviating  his  article. 
'J.  K.  D.'  will  likewise  observe  that  we  have  suppressed  the 
concluding  paragraph  of  his  paper.  It  might  wound  the  feelings 
of  others,  and  would  certainly  call  out  a  reply,  although  it  does 
not  pretend  to  bear  upon  the  argument. 

Mr.  Porter,  as  an  act  of  civility  to  liis  uncle,  Mr. 
Olcott,  always  sent  him  "  The  Spirit."  The  following 
letter  from  the  latter  is  so  creditable  to  both  gentle- 
men, that  it  ought  not  to  be  hoarded  in  private : — 

"  IIanovek,  Uih  March,  1839. 

"Deae  CorsiN  William, — 

"  I  was  absent  when  your  letter  of  December  arrived,  and 
Prof.  Adams  *  (after  he  had  ciphered  it  over  and  cast  out  the 
9s)  deeming  it  necessary  for  him  to  hold  it  as  a  voucher  against 
you,  it  has  not  since  come  under  my  eye,  which  is  my  poor 
apology  for  not  having  replied  to  it;  this  I  ought  the  more 

*  Of  Dartmouth  College  ;  a  man  of  high  honor  and  great  excellence 
of  character ;  guardian  of  William  and  the  younger  children.        F.  B. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  61 

especially  to  have  done — for  though  this  little  affair  might  not 
figure  much  in  amount  in  Wall  Street,  it  has  toed  right  up  to  the 
mark  when  the  time  came,  as  honorahly  as  if  it  had  been  done 
by  the  Primes  or  the  Kothschilds.  In  these  '  costermonger 
times,'  when  not  only  Burke's  age  of  chivalry  towards  the  sex 
Avas  gone,  but  all  chivalry  in  money  matters  is  trampled  in  the 
mire,  to  see  old  claims  that  had  been  dead  and  bnried,  ordered 
to  be  raised  and  brought  to  life  again — to  direct  principal  and  in- 
terest to  be  paid  in  full,  and  see  ^ 2xdd  '  on  the  letter  announcing 
it — this  cannot  be  a  transaction  of  late  years,  I  think,  but  must 
belong  to  another  century- — must  be  a  dream  of  bygone  and 
better  days,  when  at  least  one's  self-respect  was  worth  something 
to  him,  if  nothing  else, 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  learn  that  much  success  is  expected  from 
your  paper,  and  I  hope  you  may  realize  from  it  all  the  fame  and 
money  that  would  be  good  for  you.  Your  Andover  masters  little 
dreamed  what  they  were  raising  up,  when  they  thought  they 
were  preparing  you  for  the  Recorder. 

"  It  could  hardly  be  expected  that  one  of  my  age  woidd  be 
much  attracted  with  a  heading  of  Till  high  the  bowl  with 
Samian  wine.'  I  therefore  skim  over  your  paper  and  light  upon 
parts  for  reading,  as  the  clergyman  who  divided  his  sermon  into 
three  heads:  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil — and  said  he 
should  just  glance  at  the  world,  touch  lightly  upon  the  flesh,  and 
hasten  to  the  devil ! 

"  "We  shall  be  glad  to  see  you  or  any  of  the  blood  at  Hanover, 
and  with  hearty  good  wishes  to  all  of  you, 

"  I  remain  most  truly  yours,  &c., 

"Mills  Oloott." 

The  "  Spirit  of  tlie  Times  "  was  a  coveted  and 
favorite  name,  judging  from  the  frequency  of  its  ap- 
propriation by  those  who  had  no  right  to  use  it,  and 
the  editor  thus  adverts  to  this  poaching  on  his  do- 
main. The  "  Boston  Morning  Post  "  announced  that 
a  new  democratic  paper  had  been  established  in  Phila- 


62  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK. 

delphia,  under  the  cognomen  of  "  The  Spirit  of  the 
Times,"  and  very  gravely  added,  "  Its  name  is  appro- 
priate." "  Can't  say,"  writes  Mr.  Porter,  "  we  see 
any  thing  very  '  appropriate '  about  it,  save  the  ap- 
propriation of  a  good  name.  This  makes  the  fourth 
time  the  immediate  jewel  of  our  soul  has  been  pilfered 
from  us  by  some  Hateful  Parkins  in  this  kind  of 
way.  We  were  first  frightened  out  of  our  propriety 
by  a  great,  bloody,  anti-Masonic  '  Spirit,'  in  the 
western  part  of  this  State  ;  a  Kepublican  Sj^irit  then 
started  in  Maryland ;  then  all  sorts  of  Spirits  in 
Arkansas  and  Missouri ;  and  now  the  '  deep  damnation 
of  our  taking  off,'  is  chargeable  to  a  democratic  Spirit 
in  Philadelphia.  Since  the  first  number  of  our  paper 
was  issued  on  the  10th  of  December,  1831,  no  less  than 
seven  newspapers  have  sj)rung  into  existence,  bearing 
the  same  euphonious  and  elegant  appellation.  These 
young  '  Spirits  '  are  generally  pretty  clever  fellows  ; 
their  very  name  is  a  tower  of  strength,  and  if  they 
follow  in  the  steps  of  their  illustrious  predecessor, 
there's  no  telling  but  they  may  become  as  popidar 
and  respected  as  their  great  old  grandfather." 

Tlie  oldest  magazine  then  published  in  the  United 
States  was  "  The  American  Turf  Kegister  and  Sport- 
ing Magazine,"  commenced  in  1820,  by  Hon.  John  S, 
Skinner,  of  Baltimore,  for  the  express  purpose  of  re- 
covering as  much  as  possible  of  the  lost  early  pedi- 
grees of  the  magnates  of  the  American  Turf,  and  for 
the  preservation  of  authentic  records  for  the  future. 
In  February,  1839,  it  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Porter, 
and  came  under  his  editorial  control.     Mr.  Herbert, 


LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  63 

ill  alluding  to  it,  said,  "  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
most  able  and  admirable  Turf-writer,  than  whom  the 
Turf  of  America  has  had  no  more  consistent  advocate, 
or  more  strenuous  defender." 

Tlie  first  number  of  the  "  Register  "  issued  by  Mr. 
Porter,  contains  a  characteristic  letter  to  him  from 
its  former  editor,  Mr.  Skinner  : — 

"  Baltimore  Post  Office,  \Bt  March,  1839. 
"To  Wm.  T.  Porter,  Esq. 

"  My  Dear  Sir, — Right  glad  am  I  to  have  my  favorite  hobby 
— the  old  '  Turf  Eegister,''  fall  under  your  care.  It  was  the  first 
of  its  I'ace  ever  bred  in  the  United  States.  Its  natural  history  is 
remarkable,  as  it  had  but  one  sire  and  no  dam ;  when  it  was 
foaled  it  was  not  certain  where  or  whether  it  would  find  food  or 
pasture.  It  was  thrown  upon  the  wild  world,  without  any 
guarantee  of  corn  or  long  fodder — but  being  watched  with  care, 
and  sent  out  once  a  month  on  short  excursions,  for  air,  exercise, 
and  exhibition,  the  friends  of  its  founder,  far  and  near,  who  had 
been  previously  taught  by  him  to  make  good  crops,  most  kindly 
and  generously  petted  and  pampered  the  young  hobby, — sending 
it  an  ample  supply  of  provisions,  until  it  grew,  in  four  or  five 
years,  to  be  a  nag  of  good  size  and  full  of  spirit.  But,  like  all 
things  excellent,  in  this  enterprising  Yankee  nation,  in  the  progress 
and  '  Spirit  of  the  Times^  it  met  its  rival !  Passing  from  one 
hand  to  another,  it  has  happily  ceased  to  run  the  race  '  antago- 
nistical '  by  being  led,  where  old  '  Napoleon '  sends  all  that  he 
can't  beat,  into  the  same  stable  ■with  its  competitor ;  here  I  sin- 
cerely hope,  both  will  long  live  in  the  best  condition.  '  The 
Spirit  of  the  Times '  may  do  the  light  skirmishing  to  amuse  the 
crowd,  while  the  more  ponderous  '  Register '  is  reserved  for  more 
serious  work ;  as  Monarch  is  held  back,  for  the  four-mile  day,  by 
a  nobler  man  than  any  monarch  that  lives. 

"  As  I  have  some  right  to  know  what  will  suit  the  old  horse's 
constitution  and  temper,  should  he  ever  show  signs  of  getting 
amiss,  and  you  may  imagine  that  his  old  groom  can  suggest  any 


64  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE. 

thing  to  bring  bim  right,  you  must  not  fail  to  call  on  bis  and  your 
friend  and  bumble  servant." 

This  first  number  contained  one  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  pages  of  valuable  matter,  to  which  the 
new  editor  contributed  an  "  Introduction,"  an  article 
on  trout-fishing,  which  was  illustrated  by  an  exqui- 
sitely finished  picture,  the  pedigree  and  performances 
of  Ilar'kaioay,  and  a  capital  essay  on  English  Eclipse  ; 
it  was  further  embellished  by  accurate  portraits  of 
those  horses,  and  more  than  realized  the  highest  ex- 
pectations of  the  friends  of  Mr.  Porter. 

The  number  for  March  and  April  contained  a  por- 
trait of  Plenipotentiary^  with  a  memoir  by  the  editor, 
and  an  admirable  steel  engraving  of  the  Traineau  of 
D'Orsay,  full  of  rich  life  and  movement.  The  May 
and  June  number  was  exquisitely  embellished  by  an 
engraving  called  a  Forest  Joust,  and  Trout  Fishing,  and 
contained  an  illustrated  article  on  Fly  Fishing  by  the 
editor,  with  the  usual  amount  of  literary  and  sporting 
matter.  In  this  number  that  distinguished  scholar 
and  sportsman,  the  late  "William  Henry  Herbert,  com- 
menced a  series  of  admirable  sketches,  entitled  "A 
week  in  the  Woodlands,  or  Scenes  on  the  Koad  and 
round  the  Fire,"  which  he  published  over  the  signa- 
ture of  "  Frank  Forrester,-''  a  celebrated  nom  dejylume 
originating  with  George  Porter,  and  readily  adopted 
by  the  gifted  author. 

In  the  July  number  there  was  a  jjortrait  of  Don 
John,  with  a  memoir  by  Mr.  Porter  ;  and  in  that  for 
the  next  month  appeared  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Stevens' 
Janette,  with  an  editorial  memoir,  together  with  a  spir- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  65 

ited  engraving  of  Landseer's  amusing  sketch,  "  Eun- 
ning  the  thing  into  the  ground,"  which  is  archly  de- 
scribed by  the  editor,  but  closes  in  this  practical  vein  : 
"  Badinage  apart,  our  engraving  is  a  sly,  but  well- 
conceived  and  pertinent  caricature,  that  will  be  well 
understood  by  those  proprietors  of  race-courses  who 
are  in  the  habit  of   resorting  to  'Mule-races,  and 
Foot-races,  and  Gander-pullings,  and  Cock-fights,'  to 
swell  the  receipts  of  enclosures  devoted  to  the  legiti- 
mate Sports  of  the  Turf.     "Wherever  the  sports  of  the 
Turf  have  been  brought  into   discredit,  it  will   be 
found,  nine  cases  in  ten,  that  the  mismanagement  of 
the  proprietors  of  the  course  has  been  the  primary 
cause  ;  the  real  friends  of  the  Turf  have  more  to  fear 
from  them  than  from  open  and  declared   enemies. 
Whoever  heard  of  racing  being  unpopular  in  a  section 
of  country  where  the  courses  were  managed  by  men 
of  character  and  respectability — on  the  ground  of  any 
objection  against  racing  itsehf  ?     The  Charleston  races 
are  the  most  popular,  the  most  fashionable,  and  the 
best  attended  of  any  in  the  United  States.     Kace- 
week,  in  that  city,  has  been  aptly  termed  '  the  Car- 
nival '  of  South  Carolina — the  annual  jubilee  of  the 
State.     The  reason  is  perfectly  obvious ;   the  course 
and  its  appointments  are  under  the  control  of  gentle- 
men of  the  highest  character,  and  nothing  is  permitted 
to  interfere  with  the  legitimate  sports  of  the  Turf, 
which  are  managed  with  a  degree  of  spirit,  liberality, 
and  scrupulous  propriety  unknown  elsewhere  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic.     In  Charleston  a  gentleman  feels 
no  more  hesitation  in  enjoying  with  his  family  the 


^Q  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    FORTER. 

festivities  and  enlivening  sports  of  tlie  race-field,  than 
he  would  tlic  attractions  of  the  theatre,  or  any  other 
rational  source  of  amusement.  The  consequence  is, 
that  the  ladies'  pavilion  during  the  meeting,  and  the 
Jockey  Club  Ball  at  its  close,  are  crowded  with  the 
elite  of  the  beauty,  the  fashion,  and  the  chivalry  of 
the  State. 

"Tlie  number  of  gentlemen  interested  in  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Turf  in  this  country,  has  more  than  doubled 
within  the  last  ten  years,  and  it  is  daily  becoming 
more  and  more  popular.  The  great  practical  advan- 
tage to  be  derived  from  its  extension  and  successful 
prosecution,  are  deemed  so  important  in  a  national 
point  of  view,  that  many  of  the  Governments  of 
Europe  are  lending  it  their  aid,  and  keenly  watching 
over  its  interests.  We  have  nothing  here  to  do  but 
to  go  on  and  prosper,  keeping  in  view  this  single  fact, 
that  if  the  legitimate  ends  of  the  Turf  are  stanchly 
maintained,  it  must  become  at  length  universally  and 
eminently  popular  with  all  classes  of  society,  while  its 
friends  will  best  subserve  its  true  interests  and  their 
own,  by  frowning  down  those  individuals  whose  mal- 
practices have  so  long  been  '•  JRiinning  the  thing  into 
the  GroimdP'' 

"  ]Sr,  of  Arkansas,"  "  Frank  Forrester,"  and  other 
distinguished  writers  appear  in  this  number,  wliich 
contained  but  five  selected  articles.  Among  the  new 
correspondents  is  "  Cypress^  Jr.^''  the  accomplished 
author  of  the  delightful  sketches  which  were  published 
in  the  "  American  Monthly  Magazine,"  under  tlie  des- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  67 

ignation  of  "  Fire-Islandana,"  and  attracted  great 
attention  both  in  tliis  country  and  in  Europe. 

The  embellishments  for  the  September  number 
were  portraits  of  "  Bloomsbuiy  "  and  of  "  Deception," 
with  memoirs  by  the  editor  ;  and  in  that  for  the  next 
month,  he  announces  that  he  was  making  arrange- 
ments to  give  a  series  of  portraits  of  distinguished 
Turfmen.  The  JSTovember  number  contained  an  illus- 
trated article  on  "  Duck  Shooting,"  by  "  Cypress,  Jr.," 
the  sixth  day  of  "  A  week  in  the  "Woodlands,"  and 
other  excellent  matter  ;  that  for  December  closed  the 
tenth  volume  of  the  Magazine,  being  the  first  of  the 
new  series  under  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Porter ;  it  con- 
tained an  engraved  Title  Page — "  The  Turn-out  of  the 
Season  "  on  steel,  and  an  outline  of  Charles  XII.  on 
wood.  The  editor  in  his  "  Address  on  the  close  of 
the  volume,"  said  that  the  Magazine  was  commenced 
with  little  promise  on  his  part,  and  not  with  any  hope 
of  large  pecuniary  profit ;  and  in  this  last  particular  it 
seems  he  was  not  disappointed ;  still  he  boldly  purposed 
to  conduct  the  next  volume  on  the  same  plan  of  liberal 
outlay.  A  careful  Index  appropriately  closes  the 
volume,  to  which  are  added  as  Appendices,  "  the 
American  Racing,  and  the  English  Pacing  Calendars 
for  1839,"  most  elaborately  prepared. 

The  January  number  for  that  year  gives  a  highly 
spirited  portrait  of  Charles  XII.,  winner  of  the  Great 
St.  Leger  Stakes,  1839,  and  a  woodcut  of  a  "  splint 
used  for  fractured  limbs  of  horses." 

Among  the  contents  of  the  February  number,  are 


68  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK. 

a  memoir  of  Wacousta,  by  the  editor,  with  a  portrait ; 
and  a  brilliant  sketch  of  "  Wild  horses  fighting,"  on 
copper,  by  Bannerman  after  Herring. 

The  number  for  March,  an  admirable  one,  is  em- 
bellished by  a  stylish  portrait  of  Col.  Singleton's  Phe- 
nomena, with  an  editorial  memoir,  and  notices  of  that 
gentleman's  stock.  But  its  chief  and  attractive  feat- 
ure is  Mr.  Porter's  masterly  report  of  the  great  race 
between  ^Yagner  and  Grey  Eagle.  A  memoir  and 
an  engraving  of  Col.  Hampton's  imported  mare 
DelpMne,  with  Herald  at  her  foot,  is  in  the  April 
number,  with  notices  of  his  stock.  And  so  we  might 
go  on  with  all  the  numbers  of  this  brilliant  periodical, 
which  was  unrivalled  for  the  high  finish  of  its  en- 
gravings, the  exquisite  beauty  of  its  type,  and  its  sport- 
ing excellence,  until  it  ceased  to  exist,  Dec.  1844. 

The  price  of  a  complete  set  of  the  Turf  Register, 
ten  volumes,  was  at  that  time  seventy-five  dollars.  It 
cannot  be  purchased  at  this  date  for  even  that  large 
price. 

In  the  April  number  of  the  Magazine,  1841,  Mr. 
Porter  records  the  death  of  one  of  his  especial  friends, 
as  well  as  one  of  the  most  admirable  contributors  to  the 
Register,  William  P.  Hawes,  Esq.,  known  as  J.  Cy- 
press, Jr.  His  productions  were  remarkable  for  their 
wit  and  pathos,  and  classic  elegance.  He  died  at  the 
early  age  of  thirty-eight.  Had  his  life  been  pro- 
longed, his  brow  would  have  been  encircled  with  the 
triple  crown  of  legal,  political,  and  literary  merit.  It 
was  to  the  fresh  creations  of  his  mind,  and  to  "  Frank 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  69 

Forrester,"  Pete  Whetstone,  the  author  of  the  "  Quar- 
ters' Race  "  and  "  Jones's  Fight,"  that  the  Spirit  and 
Register  were  indebted  for  much  of  that  fascinating 
and  original  literature  to  which  Mr,  Porter  lent  his 
special  patronage  and  fostering  care. 

In  comparing  the  communications  in  the  English 
Sporting  Magazines  with  those  which  were  contrib- 
uted to  American  publications,  Mr.  Porter  took  oc- 
casion at  that  date  to  say :  "In  the  purely  literary 
magazines  the  English  beat  us  a  long  way.  In  Eng- 
land, which  for  more  than  a  century  has  boasted  the 
most  respectable  Sporting  Magazines,  the  appropriate 
themes  are  somewhat  exhausted.  The  Great  Race 
meetings  are  necessarily  monotonous.  To  give  spirit 
and  the  interest  of  adventure  to  their  sketches,  the 
greater  number  of  sporting  writers  lay  the  scenes  of 
their  articles  in  foreign  lands.  British  India  and  our 
own  country  are  most  often  selected ;  and  it  is  rare  that 
you  open  either  of  the  Sporting  Magazines  without  find- 
ing a  bear,  a  buffalo,  or  a  panther  hunt  in  the  United 
States.  It  is  to  the  exhaustless  supply  of  material 
of  this  nature,  the  adventurous  life  of  a  frontier  settler, 
incidents  of  travel  over  prairies  and  among  mountains 
hitherto  unknown  to  the  white  man,  the  singular  variety 
of  manners  in  different  States,  springing  from  their 
difference  of  origin,  of  climate  and  product,  peculiar- 
ities of  scenery  unhackneyed  by  a  thousand  tourists, 
to  this  is  to  be  attributed  the  greater  freshness  and 
raciness  of  American  sketches.  In  pure  turf-writing, 
England  never  boasted  of   an  author  equal  to  '  An 


70  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

Old  Turfman.'  In  plain  elegant  English,  logical 
deductions  and  perfect  familiarity  with  his  subject, 
he  was  superior  even  to  '  Nimrod.'  Nor  have  our 
Turf-writers  all  passed  away  with  the  '  Old  Turfman.' 
Many  still  remain,  who  ever  and  anon  delight  and 
instruct  our  readers." 

In  December,  1839,  Mr.  Porter  made  another 
delightful  circuit  through  the  South  and  West,  renew- 
ing old  intimacies  and  forming  new  ones  at  Louisville, 
Lexington,  &c.,  and  everywhere  receiving  the  most 
g]-atifying  hospitalities.  The  interests  and  prosperity 
of  the  publications  under  his  care  were  the  chief 
objects  of  his  journey.  Returning  fresh  from  the 
"  Eace-Horse  Eegion,"  he  was  in  fine  condition  to 
minister  to  the  tastes  of  his  readers. 

Notwithstanding  the  heavy  addition  of  the  Regis- 
ter to  his  labors  and  disbursements,  Mr.  Porter  carried 
out  several  proposed  arrangements  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  "  Spirit,"  and  the  first  number  of  the  ninth 
volume  came  out  March,  1839,  in  an  enlarged  and 
attractive  form,  with  a  beautiful  engraving  of  Augusta, 
the  celebrated  danseuse,  in  the  character  of  "  La  Syl- 
phide,"  and  a  portrait  of  Black  Maria,  by  Dick,  from 
a  painting  by  Troye.  As  the  old  mare  entertained 
some  vulgar  prejudice  against  "  sitting  for  her  por- 
trait," Troye  directed  Bill  Patrick,  her  faithful  groom, 
to  ride  her  out  into  a  paddock  in  front  of  his  window. 
This  proceeding  might  be  all  very  well  for  the  painter 
and  the  mare.  Bill  thought,  but  as  for  him,  he  was  in- 
clined to  sulk  after  two  hours'  promenading ;  so  whip- 
ping off  his  saddle,  he  incautiously  determined  to  hitch 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  Tl 

the  mare  and  "  bolt,"  for  wliicli  disregard  of  orders 
and  lukewarmness  in  facilitating  the  progress  of  the 
line  arts,  Troye  clapped  him  into  his  pictm-e  in  the 
very  act  of  committing  so  grave  an  offence  in  the  eye 
of  a  turfman,  or  an  artist,  as  hitching  a  race-horse  to 
a  tree  !  Of  course  he  will  now  go  down  throngh  all 
time  as  the  boy  who  was  guilty  of  so  unpardonable  a 
sin ;  but  for  fear  his  punishment  would  be  greater 
than  he  could  bear,  Troye,  through  urgent  interces- 
sion, was  finally  induced  to  remit  a  portion  of  the 
punishment  he  had  intended,  by  concealing  his  face  ! 
This  fine  engraving  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  costly 
embellishments  which  the  liberal  editor  continued 
for  several  years. 

The  price  of  the  paper  was  raised  from  five  to  ten 
dollars.  Ko  expense  or  labor  was  spared  to  furnish  a 
journal  to  be  identified  with  the  sporting  interest  in 
America,  that  should  be  creditable  alike  to  the  editor, 
and  worthy  of  the  cause  he  advocated.  In  answer  to 
his  solicitations  for  advice  upon  increasing  the  price 
of  the  paper,  he  was  assured  by  the  most  distinguished 
Breeders  and  Turfmen  throughout  the  Union,  of  their 
hearty  support;  "make  the  'Spirit  of  the  Times' 
to  the  American  sporting  world,"  said  they,  "  what 
'  Bell's  Life  in  London '  is  to  the  English— flinch  at 
no  expense  in  procuring  early  information,  or  in  im- 
proving its  appearance  and  the  extent  and  variety  of 
its  contents,  and  you  will  find  Brother  Jonathan  will 
not  be  behind  John  Bull  in  backing  his  friends." 

For  the  "  Spirit "  of  June  2,  1838,  Mr.  Porter 
wrote  a  full  account  of  the  gallant  race  between  Bos- 


72  LIFE   OF  WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

ton  and  Charles  Carter — tlie  best  four-mile  heat,  with 
the  exception  of  Henry's,  that  had  been  made  in  the 
United   States. 

The  five  great  match  races  which  have  taken  place, 
and  which  will  immortalize  the  names  of  the  contest- 
ing horses  in  the  annals  of  the  American  Turf,  are 
those  of  American  Eclipse  and  Sir  Henry,  of  Ariel 
and  Flirtilla,  of  Black  Maria  and  the  three  mares, 
known  as  the  twenty-mile  race,  of  "Wagner  and  Grey 
Eagle,  and  of  Boston  and  Fashion.  The  two  last 
were  reported  by  Mr.  Porter  in  a  style  of  undisputed 
excellence.  As  a  turf-writer,  he  was  without  a  rival 
in  this  country,  or  even  in  England,  where  sporting 
literature  had  been  cultivated  for  years  by  men  of 
taste  and  education. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  73 


CIIAPTEK    lY. 

DuKiNG  tlie  month  of  March,  a  new  weekly  journal 
was  projected  and  started  by  Dr.  Porter  and  N.  P. 
Willis,  Esq.,  called  "  Tlie  Corsair,"  the  first  number 
of  which  was  issued  March  16,  1839. 

The  "  Doctor  "  from  the  first  intended  to  make  the 
practice  of  medicine  the  great  business  of  his  life ; 
but  a  removal  from  Vermont  to  New  York  turned 
the  current  of  his  days  into  unlooked-for  channels. 
As  his  brothers,  one  by  one,  followed  in  the  family 
procession  to  that  great  city,  "  thistle-down,"  as  he 
wrote,  "  never  flying  faster  from  the  parent  stock,"  an 
increasing  sense  of  loneliness,  and  the  ever-present 
obligation  not  to  intermit  a  parental  supervision  of 
the  younger  brothers,  compelled  him,  as  he  thought, 
to  phant  himself  by  their  side,  to  guide,  encourage  and 
sustain  them.  While  waiting  and  struggling  for  pro- 
fessional advancement,  he  was  invited  to  a  Professor's 
Chair  in  the  French  Academy  of  Mr.  Coudert,  which 
he  accepted  ;  its  duties  allowed  him  sufficient  leisure 
for  the  indulgence  of  his  passion  for  general  litera- 
4 


74:  LIFE   OF   WILLI  A.M   T,    POKTEE. 

ture,  and  he  soon  acquired  the  reputation  of  a  ready 
and  spirited  writer. 

When  lie  was  at  the  South,  he  contracted  a  per- 
manent friendship  with  Mirabeau  B.  Lamar,  late 
President  of  Texas.  They  were  in  constant  corre- 
spondence, and  Gen.  Lamar's  letters  breathe  a  tone 
of  rare  affection  and  confidence.  Li  July,  1837,  he 
writes,  "  some  say  that  Houston  is  about  to  resign, 
and  that  I,  of  course,  will  have  to  act  as  Chief  Exec- 
utive until  the  next  election.  If  this  be  so,  I  do 
beseech  you,  my  dear  friend,  to  be  certain  to  come  on 
to  Texas  in  October,  or  earlier,  and  any  thing  in  my 
power  to  promote  your  welfare  may  be  commanded. 
It  is  a  beautiful  country,  good  population,  and  you 
not  only  can  acquire  with -little  exertion  a  good  for- 
tune, but  can  greatly  promote  the  cause  of  free 
government  and  the  general  happiness  of  man.  Your 
brother  William  too — one-half  of  the  talent  displayed 
in  his  paper,  would  bring  him  in  Texas  four-fold  fame 
and  fortune,  and  be  productive  of  an  hundred  more 
of  public  good."  In  1839  he  writes,  when  President 
of  that  Republic,  "  I  should  be  proud  to  j)lace  you 
where  you  could  serve  the  cause  of  our  young  and 
high-spirited  Republic.  Would  you  be  willing  to 
come  to  this  country,  and  identify  yourself  with  my 
fortunes  ? "  Specific  and  honorable  appointments  were 
tendered  to  him  when  General  Lamar  became  Presi- 
dent ;  but  he  was  not  to  be  moved,  though  he  well 
knew  the  immediate  and  prospective  value  of  all  that 
he  relinquished  in  deference  to  his  somewhat  exagger- 
ated and  over-refined  sense  of  youthful  obligation. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETER.  75 

His  intercourse  with  editors,  publisliers  and  antliors, 
drew  him  into  an  acquaintance  with  IST.  P.  Willis,  Esq., 
which  soon  ripened  into  a  lively  friendship  ;  Mr.  Wil- 
lis giving  him  the  highest  proof  of  his  regard,  by  dedi- 
cating to  him  his  "  Letters  from  under  a  Bridget 
During  the  summer  of  1839,  the  "Doctor"  proposed 
they  should  establish  a  weekly  newspaper  in  New 
York,  which  should  be  an  attractive  family  journal, 
devoted  to  literature,  dramatic  criticism,  fashion,  and 
novelty ;  and  at  the  same  time  advocate  some  satis- 
factory system  of  legislation  on  the  subject  of  inter- 
national copyright.  Mr.  Willis  gave  a  willing  ear 
to  the  suggestion,  and  wrote  to  the  "  Doctor," 
"  you  are  the  best  man  in  the  country  to  do  it — 
with  or  without  me."  Among  the  preliminaries  to 
be  settled  was  that  of  the  name  of  the  proposed 
serial,  which  was  of  difficult  determination.  After 
sundry  perplexing  consultations,  that  of  "  The  Cor- 
sair "  was  proposed  by  the  "  Doctor,"  and  adopted. 
Mr.  Willis  wrote,  "  if  I  had  not  heard  you  split  hairs 
and  talk  like  a  Professor  in  a  hailstorm,  I  should 
never  have  started  on  a  cruise  like  ours  with  you. 
Your  talent  is  to  be  the  main-stay  of  the  paper,  and 
you  arc  the  best  off-hand  writer  I  know.  You  are 
world-wise,  which  no  other  literary  man  I  know  is 
except  Halleck." 

The  first  number  of  an  enterprise  which  started 
under  the  most  flattering  auspices,  was  looked  for  with 
great  curiosity,  and  was  esteemed  fully  up  to  the 
highest  expectations  of  its  friends.  In  its  external 
appearance  it  resembled  the  London  Spectator,  and 


76  LIFE   OF   WILLIAai   T.    POETEK. 

contained  twice  tlic  uuniber  of  pages  of  the  Albion. 
In  tyi^ographieal  arrangement  it  was  very  beautiful. 
It  ranked  liigh  for  its  selections  from  the  most  approved 
literary  sources  of  the  day,  its  original  contributions, 
its  sound  and  liberal  criticism,  and  its  spirited  range  of 
observation  and  scholarship.  It  was  under  the  "  Doc- 
tor's "  exclusive  editorial  charge ;  Mr.  AVillis  being 
abroad,  and  contributing  very  irregularly  to  its  pages. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  single  volume  of  any 
American  literary  periodical  with  more  to  commend 
it  to  the  scholar  and  critic,  or  to  the  general  reader 
desirous  of  occasional  entertainment  in  the  realms  of 
literature.  It  was  discontinued  after  a  year's  cruise. 
The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Webster  of  this  date 
evinces  his  interest  in  the  children  of  the  friend  of 
his  early  days : 

"New  York,  March  16, 1S39. 

"  Gentlemen  : — I  experieuced  so  much  kindness  and  hospi- 
tality in  your  father's  house,  and  had  so  much  pleasure  in  his  and 
your  mother's  acquaintance,  and  remember  you  so  well  as  boys, 
that  I  have  felt  regret  at  not  having  found  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  and  knowing  more  of  you  since  you  came  to  manhood. 
My  interest  in  the  family  has  led  me  often  to  inquire  after  its 
members,  and  I  have  had  true  pleasure  in  learning  your  success- 
ful progress  in  life.  If  your  leisure  should  allow  you  to  call  on 
me  when  I  may  be  in  the  city,  or  if  yon  should  be  in  Boston,  or 
Washington,  when  I  am  in  either  of  those  places,  I  should  bo 
very  glad  to  see  you.  In  the  mean  time,  I  will  thank  you  to  send 
me  your  paper,  '  The  Spirit  of  the  Times,'  addressed  to  me  in 
Boston,  when  I  am  not  in  "Washington,  and  at  the  latter  place 
during  the  sitting  of  Congress.  I  hear,  too,  that  your  brother  is 
concerned  in  the  '  Corsair.'  Will  you  ask  him  to  send  it  to  me  ? 
With  many  friendly  recollections,  and  much  regard,  I  am  yours, 

"  Daniel  Webster. 

"Messrs.  William  T.  h  Geokcie  Bortek." 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    I'ORTER.  77 

Two  months  after  the  date  of  tliis  letter,  Mr.  Web- 
ster with  his  family  sailed  for  England,  and  Mr.  Por- 
ter in  chronicling  the  fact,  added  the  following  para- 
graphs : 

"  Like  all  Americans,  of  whatever  political  sect,  we  admire  the 
lofty  genius  of  the  man,  his  giant  powers  of  mind,  his  simplicity, 
his  downright  honesty.  Could  he  he  raised  above  the  reach  of 
party  divisions,  every  man  in  the  nation  would  reverence  him  as 
the  legitimate  offspring  of  our  free  institutions.  Humble  in  his 
origin,  and  born  in  a  Democratic  State,  he  caught  the  inspiration 
of  freedom  in  his  infancy.  He  has  been  the  architect  of  his 
own  fortune ;  his  elevation  in  life  has  been  the  direct  result  of 
his  own  moral  and  intellectual  excellence  fostered  by  our  peculiar 
form  of  government.  In  his  personal  and  political  character,  he 
represents  the  dignity  of  republicanism.  But  he  possesses  other 
characteristics  which  have  especially  won  our  regard  and  attach- 
ment, and  impelled  us  to  this  paragraph.  Mr.  Webster  is  a 
sportsman,  and  as  such  we  honor  him ;  he  is  one  of  the  best 
shots  in  the  States ;  he  is  as  destructive  to  woodcock,  as  to  his 
adversaries  in  debate ;  at  English  snipe-shooting,  he  has  hardly 
a  compeer.  *  *  *  But  more  than  all,  Mr.  "Webster  is  an 
angler,  an  humble  disciple  of  Izaak  Walton.  Show  me  the  man 
who  loves  trout-fishing,  and  I  will  tell  you  who  is  generous,  and 
brave,  and  tender-hearted.  Such  a  man  is  Mr.  Webster,  and  as 
Buch  do  we  love  him  more  than  we  respect  him  for  his  greatness 
and  integrity." 

The  advent  of  the  "  Corsair  "  was  announced  in 
the  "  Spirit  of  the  Times  "  in  this  characteristic  para- 
graph : 

"  Barclay  Street. — '  The  Corsair  '  will  be  published  about  a 
week  hence— say  on  the  16th  inst.  The  proprietors  have  taken 
an  office  which  is  nearly  opposite  those  of  the  '  Albion '  and 
'  Mirror.'  We  shall  hear  no  more  of  Paternoster  Row,  we  fancy, 
now  that  four  such  journals  as  the  Mirror,  Albion,  Corsair,  and 


Y8  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

Spirit  of  the  Times  have  established  themselves  in  Barclay  street. 
A  month  or  two  ago,  we  had  another  distinguished  contemporary 
with  us, — we  allude  to  '  La  Verite,^  a  French  journal,  under  the 
conduct  of  that  distinguished  peruquier,  Geaxd  Jea^-^,  who  like- 
wise grows  hair  to  any  length  and  of  any  color,  if  we  may  credit 
the  announcements  which  stare  at  us  from  over  the  Avay. 
Whether  the  literary  enthusiasm  of  the  Frenchman  has  at  last 
gone  out '  spontaneously,'  or  whether,  which  we  shrewdly  suspect, 
he  finds  wig-making  more  profitable,  we  know  not ;  but  the 
truth  is,  we  believe  that  '  La  Verite '  has  left  this  world." 

There  are  few  wiio  knew  William  T.  Porter  and 
liis  brothers  at  the  time  this  playful  announcement 
was  written,  who  will  not  love  to  linger  with  us  for  a 
few  moments  over  the  recollection  of  them  at  that 
time.  With  firm  health,  elastic  nerve,  and  a  caj)acity 
for  great  and  protracted  mental  labor,  William  had 
succeeded  in  placing  the  "  Spirit "  among  the  foremost 
weekly  journals  of  the  day,  and  in  a  fair  way  to  com- 
mand a  world-wide  celebrity.  A  mere  cursory  exam- 
ination of  its  pages  and  of  those  of  the  "  Register,"  will 
prove  how  great  was  the  demand  upon  his  mental  and 
physical  resources,  and  how  gallantly  he  came  up  to 
the  work  ;  his  intellectual  efforts  for  the  year  1839, 
and  for  the  years  that  he  conducted  the  two  publica- 
tions, not  always  exhibited  in  the  form  of  elaborate 
essays,  but  in  the  laborious  preparation  of  memoirs, 
pedigrees,  calendars,  tabular  statements,  and  all  the 
other  matter  of  these  crowded  journals,  were  not  sur- 
passed by  those  of  any  other  editor  in  this  country. 
His  list  of  subscribers  comprehended  .a  body  of  talent, 
character,  spirit  and  wealth,  from  Hudson's  Bay  to 
the  Caribbean  Sea,  from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  to 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  79 

the  Pacilic.  "Witli  seventy-five  out  of  a  hundred  of 
them,  he  had  the  pleasure  of  a  i:)ersonal  acquaintance ; 
some,  to  be  sure,  as  he  said,  old  enough  to  be  his 
father ;  a  fact  to  which  he  took  delight  in  ascribing 
his  success,  having  relied  upon  their  paternal  over- 
sight, sagacious  counsel  and  assistance  from  the  start. 
The  five  brothers  at  that  time  were  all  living  in 

o 

N^ew  York,  united  together  by  the  tenderest  aflfection, 
and  by  almost  hourly  intercourse.  As  a  group  of 
contemporary  kinsmen,  if  they  were  not  all  conspicu- 
ous enough  to  make  an  impression  upon  their  day 
and  generation,  they  were  at  least  fortunate  enough 
to  draw  round  them  an  electric  chain  of  close  and 
admiring  fellowship  of  men  of  worth  and  distinction, 
as  spontaneous  and  wide-spread  while  they  lived  as  it 
proved  sincere  when  the  grave  closed  over  them. 
"That  band  of  brothers,"  writes. one  of  their  south- 
ern correspondents,  "  united  as  we  never  remember  to 
have  seen  or  heard  of  any  other  brothers  ;  those  five, 
brave,  gallant,  good,  glorious  Porters." 

There  were  certain  peculiar  traits  which  were 
common  to  them  all.  An  abhorrence  of  any  thing 
sordid  or  contracted,  an  inbred  simplicity  and  frank- 
ness, an  acute  sense  of  humor,  a  passionate  love  of 
rural  sports,  an  ability  to  look  the  inevitable  straight 
in  the  face,  however  disagreeable,  and  make  the  best 
of  it.  In  the  "  Doctor  "  and  William  an  irrepressible 
gayety  of  temperament  and  a  fondness  for  the  society 
of  those  they  loved,  admirably  fitted  them  for  the 
delights  of  social  and  convivial  intercourse.  The 
"  Doctor  "  was  by  common  consent  allowed  to  have  no 


80  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

inconsiderable  share  of  what  Christopher  North  calls 
"the  mvincible  si^irit  of  genius"  which  inspires  a 
good  talker.  When  surrounded  by  the  circle  of  his 
most  familiar  friends,  of  which  he  was  regarded  the 
life  and  ornament,  it  was  delightful  to  look  into  his 
fine  face,  when  a  topic  was  started  that  stirred  his 
genial  nature.  All  subjects  coming  up  at  such 
moments  reflected  the  prismatic  hues  of  his  mind, 
whether  they  pertained  to  the  qualities  of  a  favorite 
statesman,  a  criticism  upon  the  book  of  Job,  a  race  on 
Long  Island,  or  the  uncorking  of  a  bottle  of  Chateaux 
Margaux.  "  Mony  a  strange  story  fell  down  stane- 
dead  when  his  tongue  grew  mute.  Thoosands  o'  curi- 
ous, na,  unaccountable  anecdotes,  ceased  to  be,  the 
day  his  een  were  closed." 

By  taking  the  bits  in  his  teeth  at  the  time  he  went 
to  Andover,  William  lost  the  advantage  of  the  re- 
sources of  academic  training,  and  was  of  course  com-' 
polled  to  severer  labor  than  the  "  Doctor  "  or  George. 
Faculty,  quick  observation,  diligence,  a  retentive 
memory,  courage  and  hard  work,  however,  enabled 
him  to  acquire  a  manly,  graceful,  unaflfected  style, 
marked  often  by  a  vein  of  downright  humor  as  fresh 
and  free  from  all  guile  as  it  was  characteristic  of  the 
man.  He  often  recommended  to  his  correspondents 
and  to  editors  of  papers,  desirous  of  writing  eft'cctive- 
ly,  the  following  advice  of  Lord  Jeffrey,  and  judging 
from  his  clear  and  sensible  style  we  have  no  hesitation 
in  believing  that  he  adopted  it  as  a  guide  to  his  own 
pen :  "  A  man  fully  possessed  of  his  subject  and  con- 
fident of  his  cause,  may  always  write  with  vigor  and 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  81 

eft'ect,  if  lie  can  get  over  the  temptation  of  writing 
finely,  and  really  confine  himself  to  the  strong  and 
clear  exposition  of  the  matter  he  has  to  bring  forward. 
Half  of  the  affectation  and  ofl'ensive  pretensions  we 
meet  with  in  authors,  arises  from  a  want  of  matter — 
and  the  other  half  of  a  paltry  ambition  of  being  elo- 
quent and  ingenious  out  of  place." 

No  better  idea  can  be  had  of  William's  fitness  to  fill 
the  place  he  occupied  among  his  fellow-men,  than  is 
to  be  found  in  the  general  admission  that  he  possessed 
to  an  eminent  degree  the  qualities  which  he  enume- 
rates in  the  subjoined  paragraph,  as  essential  to  the 
position  : 

"  Every  editor  of  a  newspaper  should  have  extensive  famili- 
arity with  literature ;  cultivated  tastes,  thorough  knowledge  of 
men  and  the  world,  habits  of  observation  and  great  facility  in 
giving  expression  to  his  opinions.  The  qualities  of  his  heart 
should  correspond  to  those  of  his  head — he  should  be  honest, 
generous  and  brave.  Alas  !  how  few  of  the  craft  can  pretend 
to  a  tithe  of  the  few  requisites  we  have  enumerated.  But  into 
the  composition  of  a  Sporting  editor  should  be  infused,  not  only 
other  ingredients  but  a  double  portion  of  industry,  of  patience, 
of  command  of  temper,  and  of  charity ;  verily  he  has  need  of 
all !  Then  too  he  must  be  learned  in  a  new  walk  of  science — of 
small  dignity  in  the  eyes  of  the  multitude,  yet  entitled  to  all 
respect  for  its  mysteries,  its  usefulness,  the  difficulties  of  its  acqui- 
sition and  the  '  exceeding '  small  number  of  its  adepts !  The 
Stud  Book  should  be  as  familiar  to  him  as  his  alphabet ;  families 
of  horses  and  their  pedigrees  should  be  as  well  known  to  him 
as  his  own.  He  should  be  intimate  with  every  Turfman  and 
Breeder  in  the  country.  He  should  number  among  his  acquaint- 
ances every  Trainer  that  ever  girthed  a  saddle,  and  every  Jockey 
that  throws  his  leg  over  a  thorough-bred.  He  should  be  familiar 
with  race  courses  and  their  proprietors,  with  the  constitutions, 
■4* 


82  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    I'OKTEK. 

rules  and  decisions  of  every  Jockey  Club,  and  with  tlie  standing 
of  every  man  connected  with  the  Turf.  He  should  have  the 
keenest  eye  for  the  points  of  a  horse,  know  the  comparative 
merits  of  rival  champions,  and  no  one  should  be  able  to  teach 
Mm  as  to  the  capacity  of  different  trainers.  He  must  know  the 
odds  on  every  horse  in  advance^  foresee  the  result  of  every  race, 
and  withal,  act  with  consummate  prudence  in  giving  expres- 
sion to  the  conclusions  at  which  he  arrives  by  the  exercise  of 
his  rare  capacity  and  foresight!  With  all  these  gifts,  super- 
natural, acquired  or  otherwise,  grant  him  good  health,  good 
nature,  indomitable  perseverance  and  assiduity,  and  one  would 
think  he  might  hope  to  become  reasonably  popular  as  a 
Sporting  editor." 

He  was  habitually  considerate  of  the  feelings  and 
even  the  prejudices  of  others,  and  with  marvellous 
tact  brought  them  to  his  own  conclusions  as  if  they 
were  in  fact  the  spontaneous  results  of  their  unassisted 
reason.  His  faculties  were  clear,  acute  and  honest, 
enabling  him  to  see  rapidly  through  a  vexed  point  or 
obscure  question,  and  to  sift  and  adjust  them  not  only 
to  his  entire  satisfaction,  but  in  his  quiet,  unpretending 
way,  as  far  from  self-conceit  as  his  pleasant  smile  was 
from  dissimulation,  to  the  cheerful  acquiescence  of  the 
parties  interested  in  his  decision.  Tlie  expansive  gen- 
erosity of  his  mind,  his  patience,  his  truthfulness  and 
entire  freedom  from  the  petty  motives  which  often  in- 
fluence men  much  his  superiors  in  masculine  preten- 
sion, united  to  the  absolute  and  sweet  frame  of  his 
temper,  gave  to  his  judgments  the  weight  of  irreversi- 
ble decrees. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  literary  Exchange  in  which 
he  contrived  to  write  during  the  high  noon  of  his 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    I'OKTEK.  83 

work-day  reputation,  and  of  "  tlic  good  fellowship 
which  rallied  round  him  there  as  the  centre  of  mag- 
netic attraction,"  we  again  cite  the  correspondent  to 
whom  we  have  just  referred. 

"  111  the  palmy  days  of  tlie  Turf,  when  the  North  had  stables 
as  well  as  the  South,  and  when  such  gentlemen  sportsmen  as 
"Walter  Livingston,  and  Eobeet  Tillotson,  and  Major  Jones, 
and  the  Stevenses,  and  Commodore  Stockton  made  '  The 
Spirit '  office  their  head-quarters,  and  when  one  never  could  enter 
its  time-honored  door  without  meeting  the  best  company,  and 
having  the  best  conversation  that  was  to  be  found  going  in 
America ;  in  those  days,  what  talent,  as  well  as  what  good  fellow- 
ship, nsed  to  assemble  within  those  walls,  and  rally  around  old 
Bill,  as  the  centre  of  magnetic  attraction. 

"  No  class  of  men  but  had,  there,  its  representative ;  no 
branch  of  talent  but  had  its  proficient,  from  the  storming  a 
fortress  or  throwing  up  an  earthwork,  to  calculating  a  lunar,  or 
club-hauling  a  ship  ;  from  construing  a  Greek  Chorus  to  cropping 
a  pup's  ears ;  from  check-mating  a  first-rate  player  to  cutting 
down  a  woodcock  under  full  headway  in  a  brake,  or  stopping  a 
coot  skating  at  ninety  miles  an  hour  down  a  northeaster  ;  from 
running  a  hundred  off  the  spot,  to  writing  a  review  for  the  North 
American,  or  a  poem  for  Blackwood  ;  from  riding  a  steeple- 
chase to  painting  a  portrait  of  Fashion  ;  from  rolling  a  dozen 
tenstrikes  in  succession  to  amputating  a  thigh  in  the  socket — if 
you  wanted  anything  done,  however  strange  or  difficult,  or  out 
of  the  common  way,  in  the  office  of  '  The  Spirit '  you  w^ere  sure 
to  find  the  man  that  could  do  it,  and  do  it  the  lest,  too,  and  no 
mistake ! " 

It  is  perfectly  safe  to  say  that  neither  of  the  broth- 
ers had  a  world-wise  value  for  money.  "William's 
purse,  however,  had  a  pecuharity  which  did  not  belong 
to  that  of  the  others,  it  being  understood  that  it  was 


84  LIFE    OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

devoted  to  the  use  and  entertainment  of  everybody 
but  himself.  The  stanch,  but  unfortunate  gentleman, 
the  broken-down  scholar,  the  poor  artist,  the  despised, 
even  the  very  offscouring  of  humanity,  had  equal 
right  to  it  as  long  as  it  held  out  the  attraction  of  a  six- 
pence, although  the  spectre  of  his  bootmaker's  head 
with  an  unpaid  bill  between  his  teeth,  vanishing 
through  the  door  of  his  sanctum  at  stated  times  every 
day  in  the  week,  threatened  to  deprive  him  of  all  nat- 
ural sleep. 

This  general  suicidal  disbursement  of  what  would 
have  contributed  so  much  to  his  own  comfort,  always 
reminded  us  of  that  eccentric  branch  of  the  finny  fam- 
ily which,  according  to  Old  Izaak,  "  cast  their  spawn 
on  flags  or  stones  to  become  a  prey  and  to  be  de- 
voured by  vermin  and  other  fishes."  Indeed,  such 
was  his  comical  carelessness  about  money,  that  if  the 
wealth  of  the  Cnesars  had  been  compressed  into  a 
bank  bill  and  placed  in  his  hands  to  meet  his  "  current 
expenses,"  he  would  probably,  in  a  sudden  rapture 
and  enthusiasm  over  a  "  hob  fly,"  or  the  points  of  a 
favorite  horse,  have  mistaken  it  for  a  pinch  of  "  Mrs. 
Miller's  best,"  and  incontinently  demolished  it,  and 
upon  discovering  his  misfortune  would  have  re- 
garded it  as  a  capital  joke,  and  dismissed  it  from 
his  mind  with  the  mild  philosophy  of  Uncle  Toby. 
It  is  consoling  in  this  connection  to  take  refuge  in 
Paley's  idea,  that  "  a  man  avIio  is  not  sometimes  a 
fool  is  always  one."  ''  Where  in  all  the  world," 
writes  Col.  Albert  Pike,  who  knew  William  as  thor- 
oughly and  loved  him  perhaps  more  devotedly  than 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  85 

any  other  acknowledged  friend,  "  was  there  so  pure, 
so  manly,  so  generous,  so  unselfish,  so  loving  a  soul  'i 
Where  one  so  tender,  so  guileless,  so  noble,  so  wholly 
free  of  all  stain  or  taint  of  envy,  malice,  ill-will, 
revenge,  uncharitableness  ?  Let  every  one  who  knew 
him  answer,  if  he  ever  saw  the  peer  of  Porter  in  all 
that  constitutes  the  true,  generous,  unselfish  gentle- 
man, made  by  God.  incajyable  of  a  base  action  or  a 
sordid,  impulse." 

In  personal  appearance  the  brothers  were  very 
attractive,  which  added  much  to  the  interest  of  their 
social  intercourse.  All  of  them  of  commanding 
stature,  compact  and  well  put  together  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  youngest  brother,  who  was  of  medium 
height,  and  built  of  frailer  materials  than  the  others. 
Their  heads  manly,  spirited,  and  gracefully  set  upon 
their  shoulders,  the  regions  of  wit  and  mirth  con- 
spicuous in  the  heads  of  all  of  them,  their  features 
clear,  fine  and  expressive,  and  when  lighted  up  witli 
expansive  feeling  or  flashing  a  response  to  some  gene- 
rous emotion,  it  would  be  difiicult  to  find  five  brothers 
of  equal  power  to  charm  and  enchain  the  aflections. 

In  connection  with  their  environment  in  Barclay 
street  at  this  time,  we  insert  the  following  article 
upon  "  Frank's,"  a  favorite  club-house  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  offices  of  the  "  Spirit "  and  the  "  Corsair,"  which 
will  be  read  with  interest  by  those  now  living  who 
can  recall  the  friends  and  wits  who  met  there  nearly 
a  score  of  years  ago,  the  eyes  of  most  of  them  sealed 
in  dust,  and  the  music  of  their  laughter  subsided  into 
the  silence  of  eternity. 


86  LIFE   OP^   WILLIAM   T.    TOKTEE. 

FRANK    MONTEVERDE'S    IN    BARCLAY    STREET. 

THE  HOUSE  AND  ITS  PATRONS. 

"  During  the  palmy  days  of  the  old  Olympic,  when  Mitchel's 
'  little  box  '  was  the  nightly  rendezvous  of  a  knot  of  men  about 
town — fast  men  of  an  almost  by-gone  generation,  these  '  bloods  ' 
were  wont  to  congregate  before,  or  after  the  play,  at  a  quaint 
public  house  on  the  corner  of  Howard  Street,  bearing  a  mysterious 
sign-board,  representing  something  like  a  counterfeit  of  those 
engravings  we  were  wont  to  see  pasted  on  the  inside  of  an  im- 
ported segar  box.  This  place,  designated  the  Havannah  Houee, 
at  that  period  was  beneath  the  supervision  of  a  hearty  Italian, 
Francis  Monteverde,  afterwards  more  familiarly  known  as  'Frank.' 
and  nightly  were  assembled  beneath  his  roof,  and  particularly 
within  a  cosy  ante-chamber,  motley  crowds  of  actors  and  pa- 
trons, of  sportsmen  and  of  fast  gentlemen,  discussing  the  merits 
of  the  drama,  of  the  turf,  and  the  chase,  interrupted  only  by  the 
monotonous  clang  of  domino  pieces,  employed  in  deciding  wine 
wagers,  by  means  of  the  then  novel  game  of  '  rounce.' 

"Noted  as  was  the  Ilavannah  House,  fortune,  however,  des- 
tined Mr.  Monteverde  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of  another 
establishment  still  more  famous,  and  whose  memory  wUl  be  ever 
treasured,  in  connection  with  the  celebrated  sporting  slieet,  the 
'  Spirit  of  the  Times,'  as  the  favorite  resort  of  the  coterie  of 
talented  gentlemen  who  delighted  to  contribute  to  the  columns 
of  that  popular  journal.  Unlike  his  neighbors,  who  considered 
it  necessary  to  migrate  to  the  outskirts  of  the  metropolis  to  an- 
ticipate the  emergencies  of  trade,  Frank  made  a  crab-like  retro- 
gration  and  located  his  hostelry  at  No.  5  Barclay  Street,  which 
he  forthwith  christened  by  the  title  of  '  Frank's.'  "Within  a  few 
doors  of  his  resting-spot  was  located  the  office  of  the  '  Spirit ' — 
that  museum  of  literary, -artistic,  and  sporting  marvels,  the  Mecca 
of  every  Western  pilgrim  visiting  the  Atlantic  metropolis. 

"For  over  fifteen  years,  'Frank's'  and  the  'Spirit'  jogged 


LIFE    OF   WILLIAil   T.    POKTER.  87 

Ijarmoniously  along  tlie  road  to  wealth  and  fame,  until  the  irre- 
sistible march  of  improvement  dissolved  their  local  connection, 
and,  soon  after  this  inimical  divorce,  the  hostelry  of  Frank  be- 
came, as  it  were,  desert  in  the  midst  of  busy  scenes,  and  survives, 
in  the  vicinage  of  its  departed  glory,  but  the  shadow  of  a  name. 
The  bond  of  association  had  been  broken,  and  the  charm  of 
familiarity,  which  gave  so  earnest  a  zest  to  '  Frank's '  liquid  com- 
binations, was  wasted  upon  the  generation  of  merchants'  clerks 
and  store  porters,  who  succeeded  the  crowd  of  '  smilers  '  follow- 
ing in  the  wake  of  the  '  Tall  Son  of  York.'  Even  the  original 
building  has  disappeared  to  make  way  for  some  palace  of  mer- 
chandise, whose  tenants  are  probably  ignorant  that  they  daily 
tread  upon  ground  hallowed  by  reminiscences  of  probably  as 
great  a  body  of  wit,  humor  and  talent,  as  has  ever  been  congre- 
gated within  any  four  walls  of  this  progressive  metropolis ;  for 
'  Frank's '  in  the  zenith  of  its  glory  may  have  been  justly  regarded 
as  the  Boar's  Head  of  a  cis- Atlantic  Eastcheap. 

"  There  were  peculiarities  distinguishing  '  Frank's  '  which 
could  be  encountered  in  no  other  public  house  in  the  city ;  it 
was  a  specialty  in  its  very  nature,  being  to  the  literary  man  and 
the  higher  class  of  sportsman,  a  species  of  intellectual  exchange 
comparable  to  the  mercantile  relation  that  '  Delmonico's  '  bears 
to  its  trading  patrons.  It  was  the  distinction  of  '  Frank's  '  that 
its  habitues  were  considered  almost  wholly  as  gentlemen,  as  the 
term  was  interpreted  by  the  conservatives  of  twenty  years  since, 
meaning  thereby  men  of  independent  resources,  or  members  of 
the  learned  professions.  In  truth,  the  frequenters  at  'Frank's' 
despised  any  thing  like  mercantile  pursuits,  for,  being  gentlemen 
of  education,  they  treasured  a  traditional  prejudice  against  that 
which  we  are  nowadays  tutored  to  designate  the  dignity  of  com- 
merce. 

"  '  Frank's '  may  have  been  regarded  as  a  natural  offspring 
from  Washington  Hall,  many  of  its  elder  frequenters  having  been 
former  patrons  of  that  tavern,  and  a  spirit  of  similarity  pervaded 
the  conversational  atmosphere  of  both  celebrated  localities.  The 
patrons  of  each  were  decidedly  fast  men,  leaders  in  sports  and 
pastimes,  whose  generation  is  being  rapidly  extinguislied.     Tliey 


88  LIFE   OF   WILLIASI   T.    POKTEK. 

were  as  unlike  Young  New  York  as  we  are  to  Hercules,  our 
juveniles  having  imitated  the  townsmen  of  former  clays  in  naught 
save  their  exceptionable  vices. 

"  Let  us  turn  our  memory  to  the  contemplation  of  '  Frank's ' 
eighteen  years  ago — not  a  long  period,  to  be  sure,  but  long 
enough  to  have  bestowed  upon  New  York  an  entirely  fresh 
population,  radically  distinct  fi-om  those  who  flourished  at  the 
epoch  of  which  we  treat.  Let  us  seat  ourselves  in  one  of  the 
rough  arm  chairs  hospitably  placed  by  the  table,  covered  with 
newspapers  from  every  part  of  the  world — '  The  Spirit's  '  ex- 
changes, and  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  liaMtues  at  '  Frank's ' 
as  they  casually  visit  '  the  sanctum,'  as  the  place  was  familiarly 
entitled.  '  Frank's '  was  not  only  a  refreshment  saloon,  but  a 
well-appointed  club-house,  possessing  private  retreats,  an  ample 
billiard  room,  and  a  couple  of  bowling  alleys,  which,  however, 
disappeared  as  that  game,  to  which  Masonic  Hall  was  once 
sacrificed,  grew  in  popular  disuse, 

"  Prominent  among  the  visitors,  as  a  matter  of  course,  stood 
"William  T.  Porter,  the  well-known  editor  of  The  '  Spirit  of  the 
Times,'  which  paper  he  is  erroneously  supposed  to  have  originated, 
but  which  was  commenced  by  the  late  Chas,  J.  B.  Fisher,  who, 
in  the  imprint  of  its  first  issues,  announced  the  fact  of  its  being 
edited  by  a  brother  to  the  celebrated  Clara  Fisher.  '  The  Tall 
Sou  of  York,'  for  William  counted  six  feet  four  inches,  perpen- 
dicular from  his  stockings,  Avas  remarkable  for  his  general  suavity 
and  disinterested  philanthropy,  his  evident  mission  on  earth 
being,  as  he  contended,  to  oblige  everybody.  As  an  editor  he 
was  ever  ready  to  confer  favors ;  as  a  man,  his  heart  and  purse 
were  within  the  reacli  of  every  applicant,  for  selfishness  as  well 
as  egotism  were  unknown  qualities  to  a  man  of  so  generous  a 
nature.  Mr.  Porter  was  probably  the  only  editor  on  record  who 
died  without  enemies. 

"  Dr.  Porter,  a  fine,  portly  man,  whose  cast  of  countenance 
reminded  one  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  was  a  more  thoroughly  edu- 
cated man  than  his  brother,  and  possessed  every  one  of  William's 
good  qualities,  besides  a  decidedly  superior  business  capacity.     In 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM    T.    POETEK.  89 

by-gone  days  he  had  been  connected  witli  '  Tlic  Corsair,'  a  liter- 
ary journal,  published  by  him  as  co-editor  with  N".  P.  Willis,  but 
at  the  period  of  his  demise,  the  Doctor  Avas  English  professor  in 
Coudert's  French  Academy,  where,  from  the  amiability  of  his 
disposition,  he  was  regarded  by  his  pupils  with  a  feeling  of  ten- 
derness rarely  bestowed  upon  knights  of  the  birch  and  ferule. 
In  the  earlier  portion  of  his  life,  '  the  Doctor,'  as  he  was  familiar- 
ly, and  distinctively  entitled,  after  having  graduated  with  honor 
at  a  medical  institution,  essayed  practice  of  his  profession,  but 
found,  although  theoretically  an  enthusiast  in  tlie  science  of 
medicine,  his  nerves  unable  to  withstand  the  contemplation  of 
physical  suffering.  In  consequence  of  his  repudiation  of  surgery, 
he  was  compelled  to  devote  his  attention  to  belles  leth-es,  and 
proved  himself  in  all  his  productions,  to  be  a  superior  critic, 
finished  writer,  and  clever  essayist. 

"George  Porter,  brother  of  Wm.  T.  and  'the  Doctor,'  pos- 
sessed fine  literary  acquirements,  and  by  nature  was  more  im- 
pulsive, or,  if  you  please,  more  enterprising  than  any  of  the 
brothers.  He  never  avoided,  while  attached  to  the  '  Spirit,'  any 
kind  of  severe  labor,  so  that  he  could  get  ahead  of  his  contempo- 
raries. In  1842  he  left  New  York,  and  accepted  a  leading  posi- 
tion on  the  '  Picayune.'  For  many  long  years  he  labored  with 
most  commendable  industry,  his  peculiar  abilities  finding  a 
natural  field  in  the  excitement  of  the  Mexican  war.  His  knowl- 
edge of  Spanish  was  perfect,  and  his  reports  of  the  progress  of 
the  campaign  gave  the  'Picayune'  a  deserved  pre-eminence. 
George  was  educated  for  the  law,  and  in  the  few  years  he  prac- 
tised in  this  city,  he  secured  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the 
most  promising  young  men  at  the  bar. 

"Another  member  of  the  Porter  family — Frank — was  for 
many  years  a  visitor  at  the  '  lower  ofiice,'  as  "William  good- 
naturedly  designated  Monteverde's  Sanctum.  His  exterior  diflered 
from  the  robust  forms  of  his  more  celebrated  brothers,  being  a 
man  of  comparatively  small  stature,  but  in  warmth  of  disposition, 
and  ingenuousness  of  character,  was  well  worthy  o^.  their  rela- 
tionship.    He,  too,  was  a    man  of   letters,  and    the  circle  at 


90  LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    POETEK. 

'  Frank's '  missed  an  esteemed  companion,  when  lie  was  called 
to  assume  a  situation  on  the  New  Orleans  '  Picayune,'  on  which 
his  brother  George  had  been  engaged. 

"  A  distinguished  personage  among  the  habitues  of  '  Frank's  ' 
was  a  dapper  gentleman,  whose  face  bore  a  bushy  pair  of  au- 
burn whiskers,  and  was  garnished  with  a  perpetual  smile.  Lord 
George  Gordon,  for  we  liad  ennobled  him  from  admiration  of  his 
patrician  qualities,  was  quite  a  Chesterfield  among  us,  and  his 
opinions  on  all  matters,  especially  such  as  appeilained  to  dress 
and  manners,  were  to  be  regarded  as  pure  gospel.  George  was 
the  very  pink  of  neatness ;  not  a  speck  of  dust  was  allowed  to 
contaminate  his  olive-cut-away,  not  a  wrinkle  to  be  observable 
upon  his  dainty  waistcoat,  while  his  blue  neck-scarf,  spotted  with 
white  dots,  after  the  manner  of  a  Belcher  tie,  encircled  his  neck 
with  most  faultless  gracefulness.  But  particularly  did  the  jaun- 
tiness  of  Lord  George  display  itself  in  the  style  and  manner  of 
poising  his  hat  on  his  head,  as  well  as  in  the  condescending 
patronizing  elegance  with  which  he  removed  it  for  purposes  of 
salutation.  Still  the  merits  of  Gordon  were  in  nowise  confined 
to  the  exterior  man ;  he  had  that  within  which  passeth  show, 
and  was  the  Yorick  of  a  thousand  dinner  parties,  which  he  en- 
livened by  a  constant  flow  of  wit,  humor  and  anecdote,  for 
Gordon  was  a  walking  encyclopedia  of  amusing  information. 
The  peculiarity  of  Gordon's  wit,  its  appropriateness,  was  enhanced 
by  the  novel  manner  of  his  speech,  and  the  earnestness  of  his 
gesture.  Once  called  to  the  witness  stand,  the  lawyer  propounded 
the  usual  question  as  to  his  profession. 

"  '  Profession — eh  ? '  musingly  responded  Lord  George  ;  '  how 
we  live?  Olden  time,  king's  fool — nowadays,  dine  out.'  And 
he  gave  a  majestic  wave  of  the  hand.  'Then,' continued  the 
lawyer  derisively,  as  if  annoyed  at  the  retort,  'you  live  by  your 
wits  ? ' 

"  '  Oh,  dear,  no !  '  coolly  returned  Gordon,  '  not  at  all— not  by 
my  wits — want  of  'em  in  others? ' 

"  Another  worthy  of  the  same  school  was  Tom  Oldfield, 
whilom  Consul  of  the  United  States  at  Lyons,  a  position  he  rc- 
^■igned,  as  he  boasted,  from  the  inability  of  the  inhabitants  to 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  91 

comprehend  or  appreciate  liis  jokes.  Tom  was  emphatically  a 
fellow  of  infinite  jest,  and  although  he  in  nowise  aspired  to  the 
Beau  Brummell  qualities  of  Gordon,  he  possessed  a  striking  ready 
fund  of  anecdotal  humor,  rendering  him  on  convivial  occasions  a 
most  agreeable  companion.  Poor  Tom!  he  had  experienced  his 
shares  of  the  ups  and  downs  of  a  mundane  existence,  which  he 
bore  with  stoical  composure.  While  in  London,  with  leisure 
time  on  his  hands,  he  observed  near  his  lodgings  a  broker's  office, 
whose  proprietor  seemed  to  be  of  a  nervously  suspicious  temper- 
ament. To  worry  the  individual,  Oldfield  was  wont  to  plant 
himself  before  the  heap  of  gold  in  the  money  changer's  window, 
and  contemplate  it,  with  mysterious  earnestness,  for  hours  to- 
gether. The  movement  he  repeated  diurnally,  until  the  patience 
of  the  suspicious  proprietor  was  wholly  exhausted  from  inability 
to  comprehend  a  motive  for  Tom's  eccentric  conduct;  conse- 
quently, one  day  he  rushed  from  his  shop  door,  seized  upon  his 
outside  visitor,  and  threatened  that  if  he  caught  him  again 
lounging  around  his  window,  he  would  give  him  into  the  custody 
of  the  Police. 

"  '  My  dear  fellow,  don't,'  pathetically  responded  Oldfield, 
'  don't  destroy  my  last  consolation  ;  for,  if  I  wern't  to  stop  here 
every  morning,  I  should  lose  all  knowledge  of  the  current  coin 
of  the  realm.' 

"  Still  another  proficient  in  conversational  knowledge  was 
Mr.  Gwilt  Mapelsden,  Knight  of  the  Order  of  St.  Louis,  and 
formerly  a  member  of  the  Court  of  some  Italian  Grand  Duke. 
He  was  induced  to  visit  the  country  by  the  representations  of  a 
gentleman  who  died  on  his  passage;  and  by  this  misfortune, 
Mapelsden  was  forced  to  resort  to  his  pen  for  a  livelihood.  His 
knowledge  of  heraldry,  and  an  affection  for  mediaeval  drawing, 
distinguished  his  publications,  which  were  of  a  unique  order  in 
our  literature.  The  '  Lays  of  the  'Western  World,'  his  '  Shakspeare 
Ballads,'  and  his  pedigree  of  Washington,  remain  beautiful  speci- 
mens of  a  revived  taste  for  ancient  illumination,  which  we  could 
scarce  expect  from  our  Democratic  community,  to  please  whose 
vanity,  as  well  as  to  earn  an  honest  penny,  Mr.  Mapelsden  manu- 
factured armorial  bearings  in  unlimited  abundance. 


92  LIFE   OF   WILLLOI   T.    POKTER. 

"  Speaking  of  literature  reminds  us  that  '  Frank's  '  Avas  hon- 
ored by  visits  from  two  distinguished  living  i)oets,  whenever  they 
chanced  to  sojourn  in  our  metropolis.  Col.  Albert  Pike,  of 
Arkansas,  a  noble-looking  man,  over  six  feet  in  height,  a  re- 
markable embodiment  of  our  romantic  ideal  of  a  frontiersman — 
has  not  only  composed  some  of  the  finest  poems  in  our  language, 
but  has  wielded  his  sword  in  the  service  of  his  country  during 
the  Mexican  campaign.  Did  we  not  dislike  the  bad  taste  of 
bestowing  comparative  titles,  we  would  say  that  Col.  Pike  could 
be  designated  as  the  '  Korner  of  America,'  notwithstanding  that 
the  veteran  author  of  '  Woodman,  Spare  that  Tree,'  lays  claim 
to  a  similar  honor. 

"  The  other  disciple  of  the  Muses  is  a  fine-looking,  elderly 
gentleman,  reminding  one  strongly  of  that  which  an  Englishman, 
rather  than  an  American,  is  expected  to  be,  as  much  from  the 
style  of  his  peculiar  habiliments  as  the  polite  heartiness  of  his 
manner.  Mr.  Fitz  Greene  Ilalleck,  the  contemporary  of  John 
Targee,  and  the  other  worthies  of  Tammany  Hall  his  pen  has 
locally  immortalized,  still  survives  the  ravages  of  time,  and  con- 
verses as  agreeably  as  in  those  days  when  Dickey  Riker  judged 
and  Croaker  sung,  above  the  turmoil  of  mercantile  life. 

"  Another  relict  of  a  past  age  was  "Walter  Livingston,  '  the 
last  of  the  white  cravats,'  who  adhered  with  pertinacity  to  his 
cambric  neckcloth,  ruffled  shirt,  buff  waistcoat,  and  blue  dress- 
coat,  until  such  a  fashion  of  costume  grew  to  be  an  eccentricity 
even  with  his  companions.  An  enthusiastic  admirer  of  field 
sports,  Mr.  Livingston  was  among  the  last  to  desert  the  Jockey 
Club,  and  the  appearance  of  this  venerable  gentleman  on  the 
Turf,  until  racing  gave  place  to  trotting,  was  ever  hailed  as  a 
guarantee  of  the  respectability  of  the  ancient  pastime. 

"  As  a  striking  contrast  to  this  vestige  of  the  ancient  regime, 
could  be  observed  the  bustling  apparition  of  Col.  John  Haggerty, 
who,  in  his  time,  might  have  been  regarded  as  the  Beau  Nash 
of  the  day,  so  neat  and  trim  his  attire,  so  neatly  fitting  his  velvet 
faced  Chesterfield,  so  accurately  turned  over  his  wristbands  a  la 
cVOrsay.  And  how  heartily  the  Colonel  laughed  at  one  of  Gor- 
don's jokes,  and  tlion  ventured  upon  a  relation  of  his  experience, 


LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  93 

when  lie  fished  up  a  rehitive  in  tlie  neighborhood  of  Holyrood  in 
the  Count  O'llaggerty,  mdet  de  chamhre  to  Charles  X.  King  of 
France. 

"  Still  another  beau  appeared  to  us  in  the  person  of  Captain 
Marx,  vulgarly  and  contemptuously  nicknamed  '  the  Dandy,' 
although  he  labored  strenuously,  in  advance  of  his  time,  to  elevate 
the  taste  of  the  younger  citizens,  and  to  impart  that  appreciation 
of  appropriateness  in  costume  and  appointments  which  distin- 
guishes a  gentleman  of  refinement.  Poor  Marx !  despite  many 
foibles,  he  was  a  man  of  cultivation  and  of  merit,  and  was 
lamented  by  a  large  circle  of  admiring  friends.  The  group  is 
augmented  by  still  another  man  of  ton — Henry  Allen  "Wright, 
who  has  a  tendency  towards  the  adoption  of  Canadian  peculiari- 
ties in  the  -waj  of  manners,  conceiving  possibly  that  British 
provincialisms  may  be  applicable  to  revolted  colonies,  in  which 
particular  he  differs  from  another  patron  of  '  Frank's,'  the  dash- 
ing Frank  Waddell,  who,  in  lieu  of  being  '  King  of  Bath,'  aspired 
to  the  sovereignty  of  Newport,  and  to  the  principality  of  Sara- 
toga. Poetic  Frank  believed  in  the  criticism  of  good  manners, 
and  conceived  that  no  public  demonstration  of  festivity  can  be 
regarded  as  comme  il  faut^  unless  the  programme  has  been  sub- 
mitted to  his  judicial  inspection. 

"  A  representative  of  Knickerbocker  gentility  has  dropped  in 
to  inquire  for  a  friend.  Mr.  Harry  Hone,  a  sturdy  specimen  of 
good-humored  yeomanry,  probably  in  search  of  one  of  his  equally 
stalwart  nephews,  the  Anthons,  that  the  two  may  exercise  with 
dog  and  gun  on  the  plains  beyond  Babylon  on  the  Island. 

"  The  gentleman  in  fustian  shooting  jacket,  corduroy  panta- 
loons, and  preposterously  thick  brogans,  is  the  sporting  writer, 
'  Frank  Forrester,'  on  his  way  to  his  favorite  shooting-ground 
near  the  Highlands  of  Neversink,  who  has  stopped  in  to  leave  a 
series  of  messages  with  '  Garry,'  the  bar-tender,  who,  by  the 
way,  was  a  feature  at  '  Frank's,'  as  much  from  his  personal  affa- 
bility, as  from  the  possession  of  a  twin  brother  Peter,  whose 
resemblance  was  as  puzzling  to  the  '  Barclay  Guard  '  as  the  two 
Dromios  to  the  ancient  Syracusans.  Accompanying  Herbert 
was  pretty  generally  his  co-editor,  Thomas  Picton,  who,  frciin 


94  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

having  been  originally  his  pupil,  maintained  ever  afterwards  a 
close  friendship  with  his  preceptor. 

"  A  gentleman  of  the  same  profession  frequently  made  a  flying 
visit  about  the  hour  of  uoou— a  fine  middle-aged  Scotchman,  Mr. 
A.  D.  Paterson,  who,  after  having  been  long  connected  w^th  the 
'  Albion,'  attempted  to  establish  the  '  Anglo-American,'  as  a  rival 
sheet,  which  experiment  alone  failed  by  reason  of  his  sudden 
demise.  Mr.  Paterson  was  an  excellent  scholar  in  belles-let- 
tres, and  unfortunately  left  but  a  few  fugitive  writings  behind 
him. 

"  So  likewise  on  an  afternoon  would  drop  in  Lewis  Gaylord 
Clark,  the  editor  of  '  Old  Nick,'  partially  with  the  view  to  take 
a  hand  in  a  roll,  at  '  Graves  '  over  the  way,  and  partially  to  pick 
up  a  few  stray  jokes  for  the  next  number  of  his  magazine.  These 
contributions  were  never  withheld  from  him,  as  the  '  Spirit '  and 
'  Old  Nick '  were  regarded  by  all  as  the  only  genuine  oracles  of 
literature. 

"Accompanying  Mr.  Gaylord  Clark,  would  probably  be  a 
slight-made  gentleman,  excessively  amiable  in  personal  appear- 
ance, and  polished  in  his  manners.  Mr,  Henry  Inman,  the  por- 
trait painter,  was  a  kind,  generous-hearted  man,  emphatically 
one  of  nature's  noblemen,  as  famed  for  his  hospitable  urbanity  as 
for  the  invariable  gentleness  of  his  disposition.  Although  sorely 
oppressed  with  a  pulmonic  disease,  Avhich  seriously  interrupted 
his  professional  labors,  Mr.  Inman  was  ever  a  leader  in  our  cheer- 
ful assemblies ;  in  truth,  it  appeared  that  the  relaxation  of  an 
evening,  passed  in  the  companionship  of  men  of  talent,  wit  and 
humor,  revived  a  spirit  which  otherwise  would  have  morbidly 
succumbed  beneath  disease  and  the  pressure  of  the  toil  over 
attending  his  works  of  art.  As  a  man,  the  loss  of  Mr.  Inman 
was  severely  felt  by  sympathizing  friends;  as  an  artist,  our 
country  mourns  a  painter,  leaving  no  successor  and  few  imitators 
behind  him,  for  his  natural  geniality,  and  affectionate  admiration 
for  children,  rendered  portraits  of  youth  and  innocence  master- 
pieces of  his  skill. 

"  Still  another  artist,  in  formidable  beard  and  a  slouch  hat 
of  gigantic  dimensions,  stands  before  us.     It  is  not  the  person  of 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  95 

Fra  Diavolo,  but  of  Charley  Elliot,  whose  pencil  has  consigned 
more  than  one  of  '  Frank's  '  celebrated  patrons  to  immortality, 
as  far  as  a  very  high  standard  of  painting  can  confer  immortality 
on  the  memories  of  human  features.  Elliot,  in  a  mercantile 
method  of  speech,  can  be  quoted  as  A  No.  1,  among  his  contem- 
poraries of  the  pallet,  and  among  all  '  good  fellows '  he  is  surely 
to  be  honored  as  worthy  of  a  '  bold  stand ; '  therefore,  say  we, 
may  his  beard  and  shadow  never  be  less. 

"  An  elderly  gentleman,  who  occasionally  penetrated  into  the 
sanctum,  was  for  many  years  the  inseparable  companion  of  Mr. 
Inman  on  his  piscatorial  excursions  among  the  trout  streams  of 
Long  Island ;  for  the  artist,  like  the  immortal  '  light  of  other 
days,'  Phillips  the  vocalist,  was  a  profound  angler.  This  gentle- 
man, who,  strange  to  say,  has  resided  for  half  a  century  in  one 
and  the  same  ward  in  this  city,  is  Mr.  Fosdick,  more  familiarly 
styled  '  Uncle  Richard,'  who,  after  surviving  most  of  his  contem- 
poraries, has  experienced  the  ingratitude  of  Republics  in  being 
defeated  as  Alderman  in  that  very  Ward  in  which  he  has  passed 
of  his  life  threescore  years,  less  ten.  In  latter  years,  too,  even 
the  fishes  appear  determined  to  imitate  the  conduct  of  the  poli- 
ticians, for  although  the  venerable  angler  annually  continues  his 
expedition,  the  recusant  finny  tribe  absolutely  refuse  to  be  taken 
by  other  stratagem  than  the  vulgar  expedient  of  silver  hooks. 
Probably,  however,  the  '  old  inhabitant '  has  outlived  the  race 
which  peopled  the  streams  he  frequented  in  his  youth. 

"  An  artist  of  a  difterent  school  entered  on  the  scene  in  the 
person  of  Bob  Clark,  the  animal  painter,  who  had  finer  natural 
genius  for  this  particular  line  than  Landseer  or  Cooper,  and  was 
for  several  years  about  the  only  delineator  of  horse  flesh  possessed 
by  our  metropolis.  Bob  was  a  generous,  impulsive,  yet  good- 
natured  child  of  Erin,  being  the  son  of  Sir  Jas.  Clark,  of  Dublin, 
and  the  nephew  of  the  celebrated  Lady  Morgan.  Poor  Bob ! 
he  had  but  one  vanity,  and  a  harmless  one  at  that— he  imagined 
himself  the  best  gentleman  rider  in  America ;  indeed,  so  pas- 
sionately fond  was  he  of  equestrian  pastimes  when  at  home,  that 
almost  the  only  clothing  he  brought  hither  was  jockey  or  lumtiug 
dresses. 


96  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEE. 

"  Prominently  among  those  visitors  addicted  to  the  pastime 
of  bowling,  was  a  mysterious  gentleman,  Jas.  Banks,  a  particular 
friend  of  Porter,  who  facetiously  styled  him  'Jim  Baggs.'  A 
very  powerful  and  handsomely  framed  man,  he  excelled  in  the 
exercise  ;  and  on  one  occasion,  it  is  said,  rolled  a  string  with  Caleb 
McNulty,  of  Washington,  for  $10,000.  On  another  occasion  he 
flourished  before  the  public  as  the  presumed  robber  of  '  Pomeroy's 
trunk,'  having  been  arrested  on  suspicion,  as  his  trunk  at  the 
hotel  was  opened  by  accident,  and  found  to  contain  $25,000  in 
gold,  with  regard  to  the  possession  of  which  he  positively  de- 
clined giving  any  explanation.  The  apprehension  and  suicide  of 
the  real  robber  relieved  him  from  every  imputation  of  criminality ; 
but  to  his  dying  day  tliis  eccentric  personage  declined  gratifying 
public  curiosity  as  to  the  source  whence  he  derived  the  contents 
of  his  trunk,  but  which  were  in  reality  the  proceeds  of  a  heavy 
government  contract  for  the  transportation  of  the  Soutberu 
Mail ;  Uncle  Sam  then,  as  now,  being  in  the  habit  of  liquidating 
his  liabilities  in  hard  cash. 

"  Conversing  with  his  friend  Gordon,  would  probably  be  seen 
the  medical  adviser  of  the  crowd — Doctor  "Warrington,  a  skilful 
surgeon  and  polished  gentleman,  whose  eccentricity  evinces  itself 
in  the  wearing  of  a  -white  hat  of  a  peculiar  construction,  Avhich 
had  doubtless  been  patented  by  the  original  inventor  somewliere 
about  the  year  one.  The  Doctor  is  at  the  present  moment  the 
popular  surgeon  on  one  of  the  California  Steamers. 

"  Then  would  come  a  short,  dapper  individual,  who  jumps 
about,  somewhat  after  the  manner  one  would  be  expected  to 
assume  if  treading  upon  hot  coals.  This  is  C.  H.  Stanley,  Avell 
known  as  a  chess  champion,  and  as  an  attache  of  Her  Majesty's 
Consulate.  Stanley  is  a  capital  companion,  with  only  one  fault 
— a  passion  for  concocting  the  most  villauous  puns  that  could 
ever  emanate  from  the  human  brain. 

"As  a  contrast  to  Stanley  we  have  Isaiah  ITowe,  the  advocate 
inordinary  to  every  patron  of  ' Frank's  '  who  has  the  misfortune 
to  tumble  into  legal  disputations,  a  matter-of-fact  personage  of 
more  than  ordinary  talent,  and  a  decided  proi)ensity  to  argue 
with  somebody.     At  this  moment  he  is  laying  down  tlie  law  to  a 


LIFE    OF    WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  97 

small  contented  looking  gentleman,  who  glides  about  tlio  apart- 
ment with  that  mysterious  profundity  of  manner  Avhich  has  been 
chronicled  as  the  attribute  of  the  learned  Linkum  Fidelias— the 
' Little  Man  in  Black,'  of  Manhattanese  creation.  In  fact  '  Mac' 
— nobody  gives  him  any  other  cognomen — is  quite  as  whimsical, 
and  slightly  more  unfathomable  a  character  than  that  antique 
celebrity  has  been  represented  to  us  in  the  traditions  of  the 
Knickerbocker.  Two  local  personages  have  entered  the  saloon 
— Harry  Mabbett — a  perfect  epidemic  on  police  mismanagement, 
who  regulates  conventions  and  committees,  and,  Joshua-like, 
commands  the  political  Sun  shining  over  at  least  two  down-town 
wards  to  stand  still,  until  he  chooses  to  set  the  affairs  of  state  in 
proper  motion.  The  other  is  Mr.  Peter  Ohanfrau,  brother  to  the 
theatrical  representative  of  Mose,  who,  after  having  reaped  a 
neat  fortune  by  ornamenting  the  exterior  of  the  human  face,  con- 
templates the  measure  of  their  internal  living,  and  has  performed 
the  mathematical  feat  of  converting  the  almost  decimal  fraction 
of  a  man  into  a  full  blown  Boniface.  '  Measure  for  Measure  '  has 
been,  and  now  is,  his  motto ;  whether  the  one  measure  be  by 
the  yard,  or  by  the  sections  of  a  gallon,  the  other  is  inevitably 
by  the  standard  of  cash, 

"  An  Indian  curiosity  we  have  in  the  person  of  Adams,  the 
Rocky  Mountain  trapper,  who  glories  in  an  Indian  chieftaincy, 
with  an  unpronounceable  name  to  match,  but  is  withal  an  excel- 
lent specimen  of  civilization,  having  deserted  his  rifle  and  taken 
to  the  '  long  bow,'  in  the  drawing  of  which  he  excels  his  red- 
skinned  brethren. 

"  Next  we  make  the  acquaintance  of  two  enthusiastic  cricket- 
ers—John Richards,  whose  hearty  laugh  and  boisterous  jocularity 
ring  through  the  hall,  while  his  younger  companion,  a  tall,  wiry, 
athletic  gentleman,  seems  inclined  to  a  pensive  consideration  of 
the  important  subject-matter  under  discussion.  This  latter  is 
Delancy  Barclay,  son  of  the  British  Consul,  who,  after  having 
attained  the  dignity  of  an  engineer  in  our  fire  department,  has 
turned  his  attention  to  the  game  of  cricket,  of  which  both  '  the 
Governor '  and  he  are  most  enthusiastic  supporters.  In  their 
conversation  they  are  joined  by  a  melancholy-looking  personage, 
5 


98  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE. 

who  delivers  his  opinions  Avith  the  profundity  of  a  Delphic  oracle ; 
for  as  Hercules  was  known  by  his  tread,  so  is  '  Cuyp,'  the  famous 
bowler,  recognized  by  the  excessive  gravity  of  his  demeanor. 
Indeed,  a  casual  observer  would  be  induced,  from  his  personal 
appearance,  to  believe  him  to  be  a  Methodist  parson  in  disguise, 
for  he  is  seldom  known  to  laugh  even  at  Eichard's  jokes. 

"  A  knot  of  worthies  in  the  corner  embrace  some  distinguished 
men  in  their  own  particular  sphere.  Col.  Costar,  who  has  wit- 
nessed the  changes  of  half  a  century,  and  remains  himself  as 
unchanged  as  the  day  he  first  perambulated  Broadway ;  Col. 
Pride,  gay,  handsome,  robust,  just  as  if  he  had  discovered  the 
philosopher's  stone,  or  at  least  swallowed  a  good  dose  of  the 
elixir  of  life ;  Lovell  Purdy,  as  intent  upon  the  encouragement 
of  a  racing  stud  as  if  he  had  grown  legitimate  heir  to  the  '  Napo- 
leon of  the  Turf,'  and  Tom  BattoUe,  wild,  harum-scarum  traveller 
in  many  lands,  who  has  determined  upon  trying  his  luck  at  the 
first  new  enterprise  which  fortune,  or  common  rumor,  suggests 
to  his  notice. 

"  Then  again,  '  Frank's '  is  invaded  by  the  apparition  of  a 
bevy  of  theatrical  magnates — not  men  of  extraordinary  calibre, 
but  artists  of  established  merit,  particularly  those  who  are  afflicted 
with  a  propensity  for  scribbling,  and  find  the  '  Spirit '  an  oppor- 
tune vent  for  their  surcharged  emotions.  First,  we  have  the 
poet  laureate  of  the  Mammoth  Cod  Association,  author  of  that 
spiritual  ditty,  '  Don't  think  I'm  going  to  Pvail,  or '  &c. ;  ever- 
joyous  John  Brougham,  inventor  of  the  Greeley  Hat  and  other 
divine  institutions.  After  him  may  come  Harry  Plunkett,  another 
disciple  of  Momus,  who  executes  tragedy  on  the  stage,  and  does 
up  farce  upon  paper.  At  another  period  can  be  seen  the  '  mer- 
chant vocalist,'  deep-toned  Brough,  who  claims  admission  to  the 
sporting  circles  by  dint  of  agency  for  diamond-grained  gunpow- 
der, and  who  has  been  induced  to  relinquish  '  those  scenes  I 
view  so  charming,'  to  dispense  in  wholesale  Parr's  Life  Pills  and 
the  'Illustrated  London  News.'  Between  merchandise  and 
minstrelsy  he  leads  a  life  unequalled  by  the  '  Monks  of  Old,'  and 
he  would  be  the  happiest  of  mortals  were  not  his  nerves  shattered 
by  afflictions  of  gout,  slang,  and  '  nothin'  else.'     But  before  him 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POUTER.  99 

stands  another  of  his  tormentors—'  Gemotice,'  whilom  literary 
editor  of  an  extinguished  'Planet,'  but,  at  that  moment,  musical 
savaii  of  the  '  Express,'  who  is  intensely  reading,  from  proof,  a 
forthcoming  critique  upon  the  latest  opera,  each  sentence  of 
which  gives  the  vocalist  a  twinge  incomparably  more  severe  than 
that  produced  by  his  hereditary  gout.  Among  theatrical  celebri- 
ties we  moreover  notice  Harry  Placide — a  better  '  Sir  Harcourt ' 
off  than  on  the  stage — who  has  condescended  to  relinquish  his 
parental  government  over  ducks,  chickens,  and  hens,  and  has 
suffered  them  to  roam  in  wildness  over  his  homestead  on  the 
'  island,'  that  he  may  shine  as  a  star  for  a  week  or  two  upon  the 
boards  of  old  Drury.  Near  him  can  be  observed  his  brother 
Tom,  undeniably  the  best  low  comedian  on  our  stage,  saving  the 
incomparable  Mitchell — whose  years  alone  prevent  his  identifi- 
cation with  his  better-known  relative. 

"  Sometimes  we  are  favored,  in  the  summer  season,  with  the 
presence  of  New  Orleans  manager,  Mr.  Place,  likewise  a  man  of 
portly  dimensions,  who  visits  our  city  to  replenish  his  troupe, 
and  to  add  to  his  store  of  equestrian  utensils,  for  Place,  breath- 
ing this  atmosphere  of  '  Frank's '  and  the  '  Spirit,'  is  afflicted  with 
a  propensity  towards  eqnine  worship. 

"  Speaking  of  Southern  notabilities,  here  we  have  Col.  Thorpe, 
a  stout,  solid  gentleman,  better  known  as  Tom  Owen  the  Bee 
Hunter,  whose  personal  appearance  gives  little  token  of  the  pos- 
session of  that  heartiness  of  humor  which  characterizes  his 
South-western  sketches,  particularly  '  The  Big  Bear  of  Arkansas,' 
and  who  is  assuredly  entitled  to  a  front  seat  among  the  American 
humorists.  On  the  contrary  the  Colonel,  has  the  look  of  a  solid 
planter,  from  whom  we  should  as  confidently  expect  the  execu- 
tion of  a  joke,  as  to  contemplate  his  brother.  Colonel  John  S. 
Da  Solle,  performing  on  the  corde  volante. 

"  Another  literary  celebrity  of  the  South  is  George  "Wilkins 
Kendall,  of  the  New  Orleans  '  Picayune,'  who  has  '  seen  the  ele- 
phant '  and,  during  the  hunt  after  whom,  acquired  some  unpleas- 
ant reminiscences  of  the  road  to  Santa  Fe.  He  has  ventured 
hitherward  to  astonish  the  nerves  of  a  special  party,  bound  to 
the  "Wilderness  of  the  Empire  State,  where  he  expects  to  take 


100  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE. 

down  the  deer,  still  tracking  the  sylvan  groves  of  Hamilton 
County ;  after  this  feat  he  will  hie  to  Paris,  to  appreciate  that 
improvement  of  the  fandango,  known  to  the  senoritas  of  Mabille 
and  the  Parisian  Prado,  as  the  can  can. 

"  Moreover  at  times  there  could  he  encountered  at  '  Frank's ' 
pure  specimens  of  the  professional  sporting  race,  doctors,  train- 
ers, jockies  and  turfmen  proper,  especially  during  the  week  pre- 
ceding meetings  over  the  Union  Course.  Then  was  a  carnival 
with  those  who  'talked  horse,'  and  many  were  the  entries 
booked,  and  wagers  laid  for  and  against  horse,  time  and  field. 
But  as  these  people  were  but  of  an  ephemeral  character,  mere 
birds  of  passage,  who  visited  the  North  for  the  instant,  their 
acquaintance  would  in  nowise  amuse  the  general  reader  at  our 
day. 

"  Conspicuous,  however,  among  turfmen,  came  Alfred  Cono- 
ver,  the  Nestor  of  Long  Island  trainers,  who  was  once  charged 
with  the  studs  of  Commodore  Stockton,  Capt.  Sutton,  and  the 
Stevenses,  when  these  worthy  gentlemen  encouraged,  in  princely 
style,  the  most  attractive  of  all  field  sports.  But  the  memory  of 
those  halcyon  days  has  been  obliterated,  and  Alfred  and  his 
stables  have  probably  shared  the  fate  of  oblivion,  according  to 
the  destiny  of  racing. 

"  We  have  attempted  to  carry  our  readers  back  with  us  to 
the  palmy  days  at  '  Frank's ' — many  of  the  habitues  of  whom 
we  have  spoken,  are  already  gathered  to  their  fathers,  many 
more  are  progressing  thither  rapidly  with  the  stream  of  time. 
We  have  endeavored  to  preserve  a  faint  reminiscence  of  the 
frequenters  of  a  once  famous  locality,  conceiving  it  a  pleasant 
duty  to  treasure  the  memory  of  familiar  faces,  before  all  vanish 
before  the  irresistible  toucli  of  the  future," 


LITE   OF  WILLIAai   T.    POKTEK.  101 


CHAPTER  Y. 

WAGNER   AND   GKEY   EAGLE. 

At  no  time  had  the  Turf  stood  higher  than  in 
1839,  and  the  races  of  that  year  were  of  unsurpassed 
interest;  all  the  horses  of  note  had  their  sanguine 
friends,  and  more  than  one  was  believed  by  his  own 
especial  partisans  to  be  invincible.  Of  none  was  this 
more  true  than  of  those  two  gallant  animals,  ("Wagner 
and  Grey  Eagle,)  whose  grandest  exploit  was  incom- 
parably reported  for  the  Turf  Register  in  1840,  by 
"Wm.  T.  Porter.     Herbert  states  that 


"  Wagner  in  his  five-year-old  form,  was  already  a  tried  horse, 
of  proved  speed,  courage,  and  bottom,  a  distinguished  winner, 
and  even,  in  the  high-flown  aspirations  of  his  owner,  capable  to 
compete  with  Boston.  He  was  at  least  the  equal  of  any  other 
horse  in  America  of  his  day  ;  and  not  long  afterwards  a  distin- 
guished writer  was  found  in  the  columns  of  the  '  Spirit  of  the 
Times '  to  maintain,  that  up  to  this  period,  the  great  son  of 
Timoleus  had  displayed  no  manifest  superiority  over  him. 

"  He  had  been  in  training  continually  since  his  third  year ; 


102  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK. 

in  1838  he  had  won  three  races  of  four-mile  heats,  and  two  of 
two-mile  heats,  beating  Extio  at  'Saw  Orleans  in  7.44 — 7.57— 
considered  in  those  days  all  but  the  very  best  time. 

"  He  was  a  beautiful  chestnut  horse  of  fifteen  and  a  half  hands, 
with  a  white  blaze  on  his  face,  and  two  white  hind  feet.  lie 
was  got  by  Sir  Charles — he  by  Sir  Archy,  dam  by  imp.  Citizen, 
gd.  by  Commutation,  g.  gd.  by  imp.  Daredevil— g.  g.  gd.  by  imp. 
Shark— g.  g.  g.  gd.  by  imp.  Fearnought— out  of  Maria  West  by 
Marion,  her  dam  Ella  Cramp,  by  imp.  Citizen — gd.  by  Huntsman, 
g.  gd.  by  Wildair,  g.  g.  gd.  by  Fearnought,  g.  g.  g.  gd.  by  Janus,  &c. 

"  Marion  was  by  Sir  Archy,  dam  by  Citizen,  gd.  by  Alder- 
man, g.  gd.  by  Eobuck  out  of  a  Herod  Mare. 

"  Grey  Eagle  was  in  his  fourth  year,  a  magnificent  horse 
nearly  sixteen  hands  in  height,  said  to  be  of  almost  perfect  sym- 
metry, although  scarcely  equal  in  his  quarters  to  his  forehand, 
which  is  described  as  sumptuous.  His  color,  as  his  name  indi- 
cates, was  a  fine  silvery  gray. 

In  his  three-year-old  form  he  had  won  two  races  of  two-mile 
heats,  in  3.41 — 3.43—8.48 — and  3.44,  respectively,  and  was 
honestly  believed  by  his  owner,  and  by  Kentuckian  Sportsmen  in 
general,  to  be  equal  to  any  thing  in  America,  both  for  speed 
and  bottom ;  although,  in  truth,  this  opinion  must  be  regarded 
rather  as  surmise  than  as  judgment,  since  his  powers  had  not  yet 
been  sufficiently  tested  to  justify  such  boundless  confidence.  It  is 
but  fair  to  add,  in  the  wonderful  races  Avhich  are  to  be  described, 
his  performance  was  such  as  to  prove  that  this  confidence  was  not 
misplaced — was  such,  indeed,  as  to  render  it  probable  that,  had 
he  been  ridden  by  a  jockey  competent  to  make  the  most  of  his 
powers,  he  might  have  been  the  winner  in  the  first  match — in 
which  case  he  probably  would  not  have  been  lost  to  the  Turf,  by 
the  rash,  and  as  I  must  consider  it,  cruel  trial,  of  running  a 
second  four-mile  race  of  scarcely  paralleled  severity  within  five 
days. 

"  Grey  Eagle  Avas  got  by  Woodpecker,  he  by  imp.  Dragon 
— dam,  Irby's  Daredevil  mare,  grandam  by  Old  Wildair,  g.  gr. 
dam  by  Fearnought,  etc.,  out  of  Ophelia  by  Wild  Medley,  gd. 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAil   T.    PORTER.  103 

Ophelia  by  Grey  Diomed,  g.  gd.  Primrose  by  Apollo,  g.  g.  gd.  by 
imp.  Grandby,  g.  g.  g.  gd.  by  imp.  Figure,  &c. 

"  Wild  Medley  was  got  by  Old  Medley,  dam  by  Wildair,  g.  d. 
by  Tristram  Shandy,  g.  gd.  Sportley  by  imp.  Janus,  g.  g.  gd.  Gen. 
Nelson's  imp.  Spanish  Mare.  There  are  no  less  than  four  Grey 
Diomeds  and  seven  ApoUos  in  Edgar's  Stud  Book,  and  it  is  not 
stated  which  of  these  horses  are  intended.  They  are  all,  how- 
ever, of  good  blood. 

"  The  description  which  here  ensues,"  continues  Mr.  Herbert, 
"  has  been  considered  by  competent  judges,  to  be  the  finest  speci- 
men of  turf-writing  in  the  English  language,  and  if  the  laudari 
a  laudato  be  fame  in  literary  matters,  we  know  no  one  who  has 
derived  more  from  a  single  essay  than  the  wiMter  of  the  narrative 
annexed," 

WAGNER  AND  GREY  EAGLE'S  RACES. 

The  editor  of  this  Magazine  had  the  pleasure  of 
attending  the  last  meeting  of  the  Louisville  Jockey 
Club,  and  witnessing  the  two  splendid  races  between 
Wagner  and  Grej  Eagle,  Those  who  have  noticed 
the  spirit  with  which  every  thing  connected  with 
breeding  and  racing  is  carried  on  at  present  in  Ken- 
tucky, will  hardly  be  surprised  to  hear  that  the  late 
meeting  has  never  been  equalled  in  the  excellence  of 
the  sport,  or  in  the  number  and  character  of  the  visit- 
ors. Turfmen  and  other  distinguished  strangers  from 
the  neighboring  States  mustered  in  great  force  ;  while 
the  Kentuckians  themselves  turned  out  in  such  num- 
bers that  the  hotels  and  lodging-houses  literally  over- 
flowed, A  w^eek  of  more  delightful  weather  we  have 
rarely  known.  The  fields  were  large  every  day  ;  the 
horses  ran  well,  "  all  the  world  and  his  wife  "  were 
on  the  course;  the  pressure  was  forgotten,  and  all 


104  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

ajipeared  to  enjoy  themselves  without  stint  or  meas- 
ure. 

In  addition  to  the  brilliant  report  of  "  iV^.  of  Ar- 
Icansas,"  in  the  Spirit  of  the  Times,  the  editor,  since 
his  return,  has  given  his  impressions  of  the  meeting 
in  the  columns  of  that  paper.  Many  readers  of  this 
magazine  have  expressed  a  desire  that  we  should  also 
give  them  a  report  of  the  two  great  races.     *     *     * 

In  compliance  with  the  general  desire  of  these, 
we  proceed  to  give  our  own  impressions  of  the  two 
races,  which  have  contributed  in  an  eminent  degree 
to  give  Wagner  and  Grey  Eagle  the  high  and  endur- 
ing reputation  they  now  enjoy.  The  races  during  the 
week  were  characterized  by  good  fields,  strong  run- 
ning, fine  weather,  and  an  attendance  unparalleled  in 
numbers  and  respectability.  The  Oakland  Course 
was  in  the  finest  possible  order,  the  Stewards  were  in 
uniform  and  well  mounted,  and  the  arrangements  of 
the  proprietor,  Col.  Oliver,  and  of  the  Club,  for  the 
gratification  and  convenience  of  their  guests,  were  not 
only  in  good  taste  but  complete  in  all  respects. 

We  have  not  room  to  speak  in  this  place  of  a 
variety  of  interesting  circumstances  connected  with 
the  meeting,  but  shall  be  pardoned  for  alluding  to  the 
imusual  number  of  distinguished  individuals  present, 
and  the  blaze  of  beauty  reflected  from  the  Ladies' 
"  Pavilion,"  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  race  between 
the  champions  of  Louisiana  and  Kentucky.  Tlie 
number  of  ladies  in  attendance  was  estimated  at  eight 
hundred,  while  nearly  two  thousand  horsemen  were 
■issembled  on  the  field.     The  stands,  the  fences,  the 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE.  105 

trees,  the  tops  of  carriages,  and  every  eminence  over- 
looking the  course,  were  crowded  ;  probably  not  less 
than  ten  thousand  persons  composed  the  assemblage, 
comprising  not  only  several  distinguished  Senators, 
and  nearly  the  entire  Kentucky  delegation  in  Con- 
gress, with  their  families,  but  all  the  elite  of  the 
beauty  and  fashion  of  the  State. 

Among  the  earliest  on  the  ground  were  the  Hon. 
Judge  Porter,  of  Louisiana,  the  distinguished  Ex-Sen- 
ator, and  Mr.  Clay.  His  colleague  in  the  Senate,  Mr. 
Crittenden,  soon  followed,  with  Gen.  Atkinson,  Major 
Stewart,  and  Capt.  Alexander,  of  the  army ;  Judge 
Woolley,  Gov.  Poindexter,  Judge  Kowan,  the  Hon. 
Messrs.  Menifee,  Allan,  Letcher,  Hardin,  Graves, 
Hawes,  etc.  Among  the  guests  of  the  Club,  well 
known  to  the  sporting  world,  we  noticed  J.  S.  Skin- 
ner, Esq.,  of  Baltimore ;  W.  M.  Anderson,  Esq.,  of 
Ohio  ;  C.  F.  M.  Noland,  of  Arkansas ;  the  Messrs. 
Kenner,  Mr.  Slidell,  Mr.  Parker,  and  Mr.  Beasley,  of 
Louisiana;  Mr.  McCargo,  Mr.  Beasley,  and  Capt. 
Bacon,  of  Virginia ;  Mr.  Geo.  Cheatham,  of  Tenn. ; 
Maj.  Fleming,  of  Alabama,  and  a  great  number  more 
whose  names  have  escaped  us. 

Good  breeding  forbids  an  enumeration  of  the  dis- 
tinguished throng  of  belles.  The  young  Miss  just 
from  the  trammels  of  school,  flush  with  joy  and  fears, 
the  budding,  blooming  girl  of  sweet  sixteen,  the  more 
stately  and  elegant  full-blown  woman,  the  dark-eyed 
Southerner,  with  her  brown  complexion  and  match- 
less form,  the  blue-eyed  ]!Tortherner,  with  her  dimpled 
cheek  and  fair  and  spotless  beauty,  were  gathered 
5* 


106  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

here  in  one  lustrous  galaxy.  The  gentlemen  were 
unmatched  for  variety ;  the  Bar,  the  Bench,  the  Sen- 
ate, and  the  Press,  the  Army  and  the  Navy,  and  all 
the  et  ceteras  that  pleasure  or  curiosity  attracted,  were 
here  represented. 

We  are  very  much  tempted  to  essay  to  describe  a 
few  of  these  radiant  belles — had  kind  heaven  made 
us  a  poet,  like  Prentice,  we  would  immortalize  them ; 
as  we  are  only  a  proser,  we  can  merely  detail  them. 
If  any  demand  by  what  right  we  allude  so  pointedly 
to  them,  surely  we  may  ask  what  right  they  have  to 
be  so  beautiful  ?  There  was  one  with  a  form  of  per- 
fect symmetry,  and  a  countenance  not  only  beautiful 
but  entirely  intellectual;  like  Halleck's  Fanny,  she 
may  have  been  "  younger  once  than  she  is  now,"  but 
she  is,  and  will  ever  be,  "  a  thing  to  bless — all  full  of 
life  and  loveliness."  With  a  purely  Grecian  bust  and 
classic  liead,  and  with  an  eye  as  dark  as  the  absence 
of  all  light,  beaming  with  a  lustre  that  eclipses  all, 
her  figure  varied  itself  into  every  grace  that  can 
belong  either  to  rest  or  motion.  And  there  was  a 
reigning  belle,  in  the  spring-time  of  her  youth  and 
beauty,  with  a  face  beaming  with  perfect  happiness  ; 
it  was  like  a  "  star-lit  lake  curling  its  lips  into  ripjDles 
in  some  stream  of  delight,  as  the  west-wind  salutes 
them  with  its  balmy  breath,  and  disturbs  their  placid 
slumber."  It  was  the  realization  of  Byron's  idea  of 
"music  breathing  o'er  the  face."  There  comes  a 
bride — and  from  the  East,  too.  A  peep  at  her  face, 
almost  hid  by  clustering  braids  of  raven  hair,  dis- 
plays a  belle  of  an  Atlantic  city,  and  ere  Ave  have 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    rORTEK,  107 

time  to  ask  her  name,  a  lovely  blonde  sweeps  by  in  a 
gay  mantilla,  changeable  as  the  hues  of  evening,  with 
a  hat  whiter  than  the  wing  of  a  dove,  and  as  faultless 
as  Nesera.  It  would  puzzle  a  spliinx  to  divine  the 
cause  of  her  radiant  smile.  Walks  she  fancy  free? 
Has  Cupid's  bolt  passed  her  innocuous  ?  In  the  centre 
of  the  pavilion  stand  two  rival  belles,  of  a  style  of 
beauty  so  varied  as  to  attract  marked  attention.  The 
face  and  figure  of  one  is  rounded  to  the  complete  ful- 
ness of  the  mould  of  a  Juno  ;  while  the  otlier,  with 
the  form  of  a  sylph,  and  the  eyes  of  an  angel,  is  the 
impersonation  of  delicacy  and  loveliness.  And  there  is 
a  lady  from  the  northernmost  extremity  of  the  Re- 
public, nearly  allied  to  the  Patrick  Henry  of  the 
south-west,  with  eyes  of  the  sweetest  and  most  tran- 
quil blue  "  that  ever  reflected  the  serene  heaven  of  a 
happy  hearth — eyes  to  love,  not  wonder  at — to  adore 
and  rely  upon,  not  admire  and  tremble  for."  And 
then  there  was  that  beautiful  belle  from  Scott  County, 
and  that  brilliant  wit  from  Lexington  ;  here,  the  pearl 
wreath  strove  to  rival  the  fairer  brow — the  ruby,  a 
rubier  lip — the  diamondj  a  brighter  eye  ;  there  the 
cornelian  borrowed  from  the  damask  cheek  a  deeper 
hue  ;  the  gossamer  floated  round  a  lighter  form — the 
light  plume  nodded  over  a  lighter  heart. 

But  what  grace  can  flowers  or  sweeping  plumes 
confer  when  the  rich  smile  of  beauty  is  parting  her 
vermilion  lips,  and  the  breath  of  the  morning,  added 
to  the  excitement  of  the  occasion,  have  given  ripeness 
to  her  cheeks,  and  a  fire  to  her  eye,  which,  to  our 
bachelor  taste,  would  be  worth  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca 


108  LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

to  enjoy,  as  we  did  at  that  moment.  AVho  can  fail 
to  detect  the  graceful  being  on  our  left,  in  a  Parisian 
hat,  lined  with  violets,  whose  soft  liquid  eye  and 
raven  braids  render  her  the  fairest  gem  in  the  bril- 
liant cluster  of  Western  beauties  ?  The  flashing  eyes 
of  a  dark -browed  matron  from  Missouri  are  roving 
restlessly  over  the  nodding  sea  of  heads  beneath  ;  and 
the  pensive  smile  of  a  fair  lily,  just  home  from  school, 
has  become  absolutely  radiant  as  she  shakes  back, 
from  her  open  brow,  a  flood  of  glistering  ringlets,  and 
gazes  down  upon  the  multitude  with  the  innocent 
gaze  of  a  young-eyed  seraph.  But  how  shall  our  pen 
do  homage  to  the  daughters  of  Old  Kentuck,  whose 
striking  Di  Yernon  beauty,  with  their  dark,  lustrous 
eyes  and  sable  tresses,  is  only  rivalled  by  the  high 
culture  bestowed  upon  their  minds,  and  the  attraction 
of  those  feminine  accomplishments  which  "  gild  re- 
fined gold,"  and  render  them  among  the  loveliest  and 
most  fascinating  women  within  the  circuit  of  the  sun  ? 
The  waters  of  Lethe  must  flow  deep  over  our  souls  to 
banish  the  memory  of  the  bouquets  and  gloves  we 
lost  and  won  upon  that  day !  The  evening  festivities 
that  followed — the  brilliant  dance,  the  plaintive  song 
that  "lapt  us  in  elysium,"  and  she,  too,  the  fairy 
masquerader,  in  the  Suliote  cap  and  bodice,  lives  she 
not  last,  as  well  as  first,  in  our  remembrance  ? 

But  our  pages  forbid  a  longer  retrospection.  The 
hospitalities  and  courtesies  of  the  West,  joined  to  the 
smile  of  her  beauteous  women,  are  indelibly  impress- 
ed upon  our  hearts,  and  shall  be  freshly  remembered 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK.  109 

■when  we  pledge  our  warmest  friends  in  tlie  generous 
wine- cup. 

The  occasion  of  this  brilliant  assembly  was  the 
stake  for  all  ages,  four-mile  heats,  which  closed  on 
the  1st  of  January,  1839,  with  ten  subscribers  at 
$2,000  each,  half  forfeit,  as  follows  : 

1.  Y.  N.  Oliver  and  Miles  W.  Dickey,  of  Kentucky,  named  gr.  c, 
Grey  Eagle,  by  "Woodpecker,  out  of  Ophelia,  by  "Wild  Medley, 
4  yrs. — Dress,  Red,  Blue  and  Orange. 

2.  "Wm.  T.  "Ward,  of  Kentucky,  named  b.  m.  Mary  Vaughan,  by 
"Waxy,  out  of  Betty  Blusten,  by  imp.  Blusten,  5  yrs.— Dress, 
Blue  and  "White. 

3.  Willa  Viley,  of  Kentucky,  named  ch.  f.  Qtceen  Mary,  by  Ber- 
trand,  dam  by  Brimmer,  4  yrs. — Dress,  "White  and  Green. 

4.  Geo.  N".  Sanders  and  Lewis  Sanders,  Jr.,  of  Kentucky,  named 
b.  c.  Occident,  by  Bertrand,  out  of  Diamond,  by  Turpin's 
riorizel,  4  yrs. — Dress,  "White. 

5.  Sidney  Burbridge,  of  Kentucky,  named  b.  c.  Tarlton,  by 
"Woodpecker,  dam  by  Robin  Gray,  5  yrs. — Dress,  not  de- 
clared. 

6.  Jas.  C.  Bradley  and  H.  B.  Steel,  of  Kentucky,  named  ch,  c. 
HawTc-Eye,  by  Sir  Lovell,  out  of  Pressure's  dam,  by  Jenkins' 
Sir  "William,  4  yrs.— Dress,  Orange  and  Black. 

7.  Archie  Cheatham,  of  Virginia,  named  ch.  h.  Billy  Townes,  by 
imp.  Fylde,  dam  by  Virginian,  5  yrs. — Dress,  Purple  and 
Red. 

8.  James  S.  Garrison,  of  Louisiana,  named  ch.  h.  Wagner,  by 
Sir  Charles,  out  of  Maria  "West,  by  Marion,  5  yrs. — Dress,  Red 
and  Red, 

9.  "Wm.  "Wynn,  of  Virginia,  named  b.  c.  Picton,  by  imp.  Luz- 
borough,  out  of  Isabella,  by  Sir  Archy,  5  yrs. — Dress,  not 
declared. 

10.  Wm.  Buford,  Jr.,  of  Kentucky,  named  ch.  f.  Musidora,  by 
Medoc,  dam  by  Kosciusko,  4  yrs.— Dress,  not  declared. 


110  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

The  race  came  off  on  Monday,  the  30th  of  Sep- 
tember. Of  the  ten  nominations,  four  onl}^  came  to 
the  post — Wagner,  Grey  Eagle,  Queen  Mary,  and 
Hawk-Eye ;  of  the  other  six,  Tarlton  and  Musidora 
had  given  way  in  training  ;  Picton  was  in  Tennessee, 
and  compLaining;  Occident's  trials  would  not  justify 
his  starting ;  Billy  Townes  and  Mary  Yaughan  were 
on  the  ground,  but  not  up  to  the  mark  in  condition. 
From  the  day  the  stake  closed,  the  betting  had  been 
going  on  with  spirit  in  different  sections  of  the 
country,  increasing  daily  in  amount  as  the  race  drew 
nigh.  From  the  first,  Wagner  was  decidedly  the 
favorite  ;  and  when  it  became  reduced  almost  to  a 
certainty  that  not  above  six  would  start,  the  betting 
was  about  50  to  T5  on  him  vs.  the  field.  For  many 
months  previous  to  the  race,  and  before  it  was  known 
how  many  would  start,  odds  were  ofiered,  from  ISTew 
York  to  New  Orleans,  on  Wagner  and  Billy  Townes 
against  the  field.  Immense  sums  were  laid  out  at 
odds,  in  Kentucky,  on  Grey  Eagle's  winning  the  first 
heat,  and  in  many  instances  he  was  backed  against 
Wagner  for  the  race.  In  consequence  of  the  un- 
limited confidence  felt  by  the  Kentuckians  in  the 
"  foot "  of  Grey  Eagle,  it  was  resolved  by  the  Wagner 
party  not  to  run  for  the  first  heat,  unless  circum- 
stances should  occur  which  might  render  it  an  easy 
thing  for  their  horse.  But  the  day  before  the  race  a 
commission  from  Kew  Orleans  was  received,  oft'ering 
a  large  sum  on  Wagner's  beating  the  gray  the  first 
heat,  which  induced  them  to  change  this  determina- 
tion ;    indeed,  the  inducement  to  run   for  it  \\a&  a 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  Ill 

pretty  substantial  one,  for  they  could  lose  nothing, 
and  might  win  several  thousands — we  do  not  feel  at 
liberty  to  say  how  many,  or  who  were  the  parties ;  it 
is  enough  that  they  were  keen,  and  also  successful. 
Two  days  before  the  race,  Mr.  McCargo  gave  Billy 
Townes  a  trial  with  Missouri  and  Texana,  and  though 
the  result  was  entirely  satisfactory,  so  far  as  his  action 
was  concerned,  he  soon  after  cramped  to  such  a  de- 
gree, that  it  was  at  once  declared  that  he  could  not 
be  started.  Mary  Yaughan,  we  believe,  was  plated 
for  the  race,  but  not  being  quite  up  to  the  mark,  she 
also  paid  forfeit.  On  the  morning  of  the  race,  it 
being  understood  pretty  thoroughly  that  Wagner, 
Grey  Eagle,  Queen  Mary,  and  Hawk-Eye  only  would 
start  out  of  the  ten  nominations,  "  business "  com- 
menced in  earnest,  Wagner  being  freely  offered 
against  the  field,  and  as  freely  taken,  while  Grey 
Eagle  was  backed  at  small  odds  for  the  first  heat. 
The  "  call "  for  the  horses  was  sounded  at  a  quarter 
to  one  o'clock,  and  soon  after  all  eyes  were  directed 
toward  a  motley  group  approaching  from  Mr.  Garri- 
son's stable ;  "  with  stately  step  and  slow,"  the  proud 
champion  of  Louisiana  made  his  appearance.  He 
was  directly  stripped,  and  a  finer  exhibition  of  the 
perfection  to  which  the  trainer's  art  can  be  carried 
we  have  rarely  seen.  His  coat  and  eye  were  alike 
brilliant— TF«^n^r  is  a  light  gold  chestnut,  with  a 
roan  stripe  on  the  right  side  of  his  face,  and  white 
hind  feet— about  fifteen  hands  and  a  half  high.  His 
head  is  singularly  small,  clean  and  bony,  set  on  a 
light  but  rather  long  neck ;  forehanded,  he  resembles 


112  LIFE   OF   WILLIA3I   T.    PORTER. 

the  pictures  of  his  sire,  and  in  his  carriage  is  said  to 
resemble  him.  His  shoulder  is  immensely  strong, 
running  very  well  back  into  a  good  middle-piece, 
which  is  well  ribbed  home.  One  of  the  finest  points 
about  him  is  his  great  depth  of  chest ;  few  horses  can 
measure  with  him  from  the  point  of  his  shoulder  to 
the  brisket.  His  arms  are  heavily  muscled,  like 
Mingo's,  with  the  tendons  standing  out  in  bold  re- 
lief. He  has  uncommonly  strong  and  wide  hips,  a 
good  loin,  remarkably  fine  stifles  and  thighs,  with  as 
fine  hocks  and  legs  as  ever  stood  under  a  horse. 
Wagner  has  been  in  training  ever  since  his  Three-year 
old,  and  has  travelled  over  three  thousand  miles,  with- 
out three  weeks'  rest  this  season  !  Mr.  Garrison  com- 
menced galloping  him  just  four  weeks  previous  to 
this  race;  he  had  not  even  been  turned  loose  in  a 
paddock. 

A  murmur,  which  was  soon  lost  in  a  suppressed 
cheer  at  the  head  of  the  quarter  stretch,  announced 
to  the  multitude  about  the  stand  the  approach  of 
Grey  Eagle  ;  as  he  came  up  in  front  of  the  stand,  his 
lofty  carriage  and  flashing  eye  elicited  a  burst  of  ap- 
plause, which  told  better  than  words  can  express  the 
intense  and  ardent  aspirations  felt  in  his  success, 
by  every  son  and  daughter  of  Kentucky.  Clinton, 
his  trainer,  immediately  stripped  oflf  his  sheet  and 
hood,  and  a  finer  specimen  of  the  high-mettled  racer 
was  never  exhibited.  He  was  in  condition  to  run  for 
a  man's  life — a  magnificent  gray,  nearly  sixteen 
hands  high,  with  the  step  of  a  gazelle  and  the  strength 
of  a  Bucephalus.     Mr.  Burbridge  had  told  us  that  of 


LIFE   OF    WILLIA2VI   T.    PORTEK.  113 

one  thing  lie  was  confident — his  horse  might  want 
foot,  but  of  his  game  he  was  certain  ;  the  correctness 
of  his  judgment  the  sequel  will  show.  In  the  hands 
of  Clinton,  who,  by  the  by,  is  a  Kentuckian,  not  above 
seven  and  twenty  years  of  age,  Grey  Eagle  had  never 
lost  a  heat ;  the  previous  October,  he  won  a  two-mile 
sweepstakes,  over  this  course,  in  3.4:1 — 3.4:3f ;  and  a 
week  afterwards  repeated  the  race  in  3.48 — 3.44. 
His  form  indicates  more  power  of  endurance  than 
any  horse  we  ever  saw  in  Kentucky ;  from  the  girth 
forward,  his  shape  and  make  could  hardly  be  im- 
proved, if  he  merely  had  the  delicate,  finely  tapered 
ears  of  a  Sir  Charles  or  a  Wild  Bill.  Standing  be- 
hind him,  his  quarters  display  a  fine  development  of 
muscle,  but  many  would  call  them  light  in  proportion 
to  his  size  and  forehead ;  in  this  respect  he  closely 
resembles  Priam.  His  coupling,  thigh  and  stifle  are 
unexceptionably  good,  and  his  hocks  come  well  down 
to  the  ground,  giving  him  great  length  from  this 
point  to  that  of  the  whirlbone.  His  legs  are  clean, 
broad  and  flat,  with  the  ham-strings  and  leaders 
beautifully  developed — no  son  of  AVhip  ever  had  a 
finer  set  of  limbs  under  him. 

Two  chestnuts  next  challenged  the  public's  atten- 
tion ;  the  first  was  Queen  Mary,  a  very  blood-like 
looking  filly,  with  white  hind  feet,  that  a  single  glance 
would  have  shown  to  be  a  daughter  of  Bertrand. 
She  measures  about  15^  hands,  is  well  put  up,  and 
when  running  in  good  form,  must  be  a  dangerous 
lady  to  trifle  with.  Hawk-Eye,  as  we  remember  him, 
is  a  heavy  moulded  colt,  of  nearly  15^  hands,  with  a 


114  LIFE   OF   "WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK. 

star  and  white  fore  feet ;  without  the  foot  or  the 
endurance  of  his  half-brother,  Pressure,  he  presents 
to  the  eye  no  such  game  aj)pearance.  We  trust  he 
was  not  himself  on  this  occasion,  or  we  should  wish 
"  ne'er  to  look  upon  his  like  again,"  for  he  cut  a 
very  sorry  figure  in  this  party.  Both  himself  and 
the  Bertrand  filly  have  been  winners,  and  the  latter 
has  ever  been  looked  upon  as  a  performer  of  great 
promise. 

At  half-past  one  o'clock,  the  jockeys  having  re- 
ceived their  orders  from  the  judges,  the  order  was 
given  to  "  clear  the  course."  Cato,  called  Kate,  in  a 
richly-embroidered  scarlet  dress,  was  put  upon  Wag- 
ner ;  he  is  a  capital  jockey,  and  rode  nearly  up  to  his 
weight,  110  pounds.  The  rider  engaged  for  Grey 
Eagle  lost  the  confidence  of  his  owners  just  before 
the  race,  and  at  the  eleventh  hour  they  were  obliged 
to  hunt  up  another.  Stephen  Welch,  a  three-year-old 
rider,  was  selected,  though  obliged  to  carry  thirteen 
pounds  dead  weight  in  shot-pouches  on  his  saddle ! 
The  friends  of  Grey  Eagle,  however,  had  entire  confi- 
dence in  his  honesty ;  and  it  is  clear  that  he  did  his 
best,  though,  weighing,  as  he  did,  but  eighty-two 
pounds,  he  had  neither  the  strength  nor  stamina  to 
hold  and  control  a  powerful,  fiery  horse  like  Grey 
Eagle.  He  rode  superbly  for  a  lad  of  his  years, 
while  Gate's  exhibition  of  skill  and  judgment  Avould 
have  done  credit  to  Gil.  Patrick.  The  horses  took 
their  places  in  accordance  with  the  precedence  of  their 
nomination  for  the  stake,  Grey  Eagle  having  the 
inside  track,  Queen  Mary  second,  Ilawk-Eye  third, 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  115 

and  Wagner  the  outside.  Just  at  tliis  moment  Mr, 
Ward,  the  President  of  the  Chib,  dislodged  the  band 
from  their  seats  over  the  judges'  stand,  and  Mr.  Clay, 
Judge  Porter,  Judge  Eowan,  our  friend  Col.  Whet- 
stone, of  the  Devil's  Fork  of  the  Little  Ked,  and  the 
writer  of  this  article,  with  two  or  three  other  gentle- 
men, were  invited  to  occupy  them,  by  which  we  all 
obtained  a  fine  view,  not  only  of  the  race,  but — of  the 
ladies  in  the  stands  opposite. 

The    Pace. 

All  being  in  motion  and  nearly  in  line,  the  Presi- 
dent gave  the  word  "  Go  !  "  and  tapped  the  drum. 
Grey  Eagle  was  the  last  off,  while  Wagner  went  away 
like  a  quarter-horse,  with  Queen  Mary  well  up  second  ; 
they  were  taken  in  hand  at  once,  which  allowed 
Hawk-Eye  to  take  the  place  of  the  Queen  on  the  back 
stretch,  and  at  the  three-quarter  mile-post,  Wagner 
allowed  him  to  take  the  track.  Hawk-Eye  led  home 
to  the  stand  at  a  moderate  place,  Wagner  second,  and 
Queen  Mary  third ;  both  of  them  were  pulling  to 
Grey  Eagle,  at  whose  head  Stephen  was  tugging  with 
might  and  main.  Hawk-Eye  carried  on  the  running 
for  about  half  a  mile  further,  until  Gooding  bid  Cato 
"Go  along."  The  pace  mended  at  once;  Wagner 
went  up  to  Hawk-Eye,  and  might  have  cut  him  down 
in  half  a  dozen  strides,  but  the  Queen  was  still  lying 
back,  and  Grey  Eagle  had  not  yet  made  a  stroke. 
Wagner  came  first  to  stand,  and  at  the  turn,  Cato  hav- 
ing held  up  his  whip  as  a  signal  to  the  crowd  of  rub- 


116  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TOETEK. 

bers  and  boys  on  Garrison's  stable,  that  "  tlie  old 
sorrel  stud  "  was  going  just  right,  they  gave  him  a 
slight  cheer,  at  which  Wagner  broke  loose,  and  made 
a  sj^read-eagle  of  the  field  in  "  no  time."  The  other 
jocks  were  not  a  little  startled  at  this  demonstration  of 
Wagner's  speed,  and  each  called  upon  his  nag,  so  that, 
opposite  the  Oakland  House,  near  the  three-quarter 
mile  post,  the  field  closed.  Stephen  here  let  out  the 
phenomenon  he  so  gracefully  bestrode,  and,  like  twin 
bullets,  the  gallant  gray  and  Wagner  came  out  of  the 
melee.  At  the  head  of  the  quarter-stretch,  Stephen 
was  told  to  "  j^ull  him  steady,"  so  that,  before  Wagner 
leached  the  stand.  Queen  Mary  had  changed  j^laces 
with  Grey  Eagle,  notwithstanding  her  saddle  had 
slipped  on  her  withers.  Hawk-Eye  Avas  already  in 
difficulty,  and  for  him  the  j^ace  was  getting  "  no  better 
very  fast."  Grey  Eagle  set  to  work  in  earnest  on 
entering  the  back  stretch,  first  out-footing  the  Queen 
and  then  challenging  Wagner.  From  the  Oakland 
House  to  the  head  of  the  quarter-stretch,  the  ground 
is  descending,  and  from  thence  up  the  straight  run  to 
the  stand,  a  distance  of  perhaps  six  hundred  yards, 
it  is  ascending.  At  the  half-mile  post  Cato  called 
upon  Wagner,  and  the  critical  moment  having  ar- 
rived, Stephen  collared  him  with  the  gray,  on  the 
outside.  For  three  hundred  yards  the  pace  was  tre- 
mendous ;  Grey  Eagle  once  got  his  head  and  neck  in 
front,  and  a  tremendous  shout  was  sent  up ;  but 
Wagner  threw  him  ofi"  so  far  in  going  round  the  last 
turn,  that,  half-way  up  the  stretch,  Mr.  Burbridge 
ordered  him  to  be  pulled  up,  and  Wagner  won  clev- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  117 

erly,  Queen  Maiy  dropping  just  within  her  distance, 
150  yards.     Hawk-Eye  was  nowhere.     Time,  7.48. 

The  disappointment  and  mortification  were  so 
great,  that  for  the  first  twenty  minntes  after  the  heat, 
Queen  Mary  was  freely  backed  against  Grey  Eagle, 
while  so  far  as  "Wagner  was  concerned,  it  was  con- 
sidered "  a  dead  open  and  shut."  Before  the  forty- 
five  had  elapsed,  however,  a  re-action  took  place  in 
favor  of  Grey  Eagle.  Not  a  Kentuckian  on  the 
ground  laid  out  a  dollar  on  Wagner  I  From  the 
first,  the  very  few  individuals  who  were  disposed  to 
back  hira  on  account  of  his  blood,  his  form,  his  per- 
formances, and  his  condition,  had  not  staked  a  dollar ; 
their  judgment  prompted  them  to  back  the  Southern 
Champion,  but  they  woidd  not  bet  against  Kentucky  ! 
Talk  of  State  pride  in  South  Carolina !  Why,  the 
Kentuckians  have  more  of  it  than  the  citizens  of  all 
the  States  in  the  Confederacy  added  together.  They 
not  only  believe  Kentucky  to  be  the  Eden  of  the 
world  and  the  garden  of  the  Union,  but  their  own 
favorite  county  to  be  the  asparagus-bed  of  the  State ! 
And  they  have  good  reason  ;  Kentucky  is  a  glorious 
State.  The  talent  and  chivalry  of  her  sons  are  in 
keeping  with  the  intelligence  and  peerless  beauty  of 
her  daughters,  and  well  may  they  be  proud  of  her 
and  of  each  other.     But  to  the  horses. 

All  cooled  off  well,  but  more  especially  Grey 
Eagle,  who  appeared  not  to  mind  the  run  a  jot.  They 
got,  as  Clinton  remarked,  "  a  capital  scraj)e  out  of 
him,"  and  he  was  "  as  fine  as  silk  " — in  good  order 
for   a  bruising  heat.     He  extended  himself  with  a 


118  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETER. 

degree  of  ease  in  tlie  second  heat,  and  changed  his 
action  in  a  manner  that  convinced  us  that  the  sweat 
had  relieved  liim.  "Wagner,  Avho  resembles  Boston  in 
many  other  respects,  showed  all  that  placidity  and 
calmness  of  look  and  motion  which  characterizes  "  the 
old  White-nose."  Great  odds  were  offered  on  him 
for  the  race,  but  small  amounts  only  were  staked. 
Grey  Eagle's  noble  bearing  and  game-cock  look,  as 
he  came  up  to  the  contest  in  a  second  heat  for  the 
meed  of  honor  and  applause,  was  the  theme  of  uni- 
versal admiration ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  a  cargo  of 
laces,  gloves,  bijouterie,  etc.,  must  have  been  required 
to  pay  the  wagers  made  in  the  Ladies'  Pavilion. 

Second  Heat. — ^The  tap  of  the  drum  sent  them 
away  with  a  beautiful  start,  Wagner  leading  off  with 
a  steady,  business-like  stride,  while  Grey  Eagle,  as 
full  of  game  as  of  beauty,  waited  upon  him  close  up. 
It  was  instantly  evident  that  Mr.  Burbridge  had 
changed  his  tactics ;  the  moment  Stephen  got  Grey 
Eagle  into  straight  work  on  the  back  side,  he  made 
play  for  the  track,  and  after  a  terrific  burst  of  speed 
for  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  he  came  in  front ; 
keej)ing  up  his  stroke,  he  soon  after  made  a  gap  of  four 
lengths,  and  though  Wagner  drew  upon  him  a  little 
in  coming  up  the  rising  ground  towards  the  stand, 
yet  he  passed  it  far  enough  in  advance  to  warrant  the 
warm  and  hearty  plaudits  of  his  friends.  As  if  in- 
spirited by  the  cheers  of  the  crowd,  and  the  tokens 
of  unalloyed  gratification  exhibited  by  the  galaxy  of 
radiant  beauty  in  the  stands,  Grey  Eagle  kept  up 
his  murderous  rate  throughout  the  entire  second  mile ; 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  119 

Wagner  lay  up  close,  and  there  was  no  faltering,  no 
flinching,  no  giving  back,  on  the  part  of  either.  The 
stride  was  over  twenty-two  feet,  perfectly  steady, 
strong  and  regular,  with  no  dwelling,  no  floundering, 
no  laboring.  Grey  Eagle  made  the  running  to  be- 
yond the  half-mile  post  on  the  third  mile,  and  the 
pace  seemed  too  good  to  last,  but  there  were  "  links  " 
yet  to  be  "  let  out."  From  this  point  the  two  cracks 
made  a  match  of  it,  in  which  Queen  Mary  had  as 
little  apparent  concern  as  if  out  of  the  race.  Near 
the  Oakland  House,  Wagner  set  to  work  to  do  or  die. 
'•''Rowel  him  up  !  "  shouted  his  owner  to  Cato  ;  while 
Garrison,  at  the  head  of  the  quarter-stretch,  was  wav- 
ing his  hat  to  him  to  come  on !  The  rally  that  ensued 
down  the  descent  to  the  turn  was  desperate,  but 
Wagner  could  not  gain  an  inch  ;  as  they  swung  round 
into  the  quarter-stretch,  they  were  lapped ;  "  spur 
your  proud  coursers  hard,  and  ride  in  blood  !  "  were 
the  orders  on  this,  as  they  are  described  to  have  been 
on  Bosworth  "  field."  Both  horses  got  a  taste  of  steel 
and  catgut  as  they  came  up  the  ascent,  and  on  casting 
our  eye  along  the  cord  extending  across  the  course 
from  the  judges'  to  the  Club  stands.  Grey  Eagle  was 
the  first  under  it  by  a  head  and  shoulders  ;  at  the  turn 
Stephen  manoeuvred  so  as  to  press  Wagner  on  the 
outside,  and  soon  after  drew  out  clear  in  front,  looking 
so  much  like  a  winner,  that  the  crowd,  unable  to  re- 
press an  irresistible  impulse,  sent  up  a  cheer  that 
made  the  welkin  ring  for  miles  around.  Tlie  group  on 
AVagner's  stable  again  bid  him  "  go  on  !  "  but  Cato, 
"  calm  as  a  summer's  morning,"  was  quietly  biding 


120  LIFE   OF   AVILLIAM   T.    POKTER. 

his  time ;  lie  seemed  to  feel  that  Patience  has  won 
more  dollars  than  Haste  has  coppers,  and  that  there 
was  but  a  solitary  chance  of  winning  the  race  out  of 
the  fire.  Fully  aware  of  the  indomitable  game  of  the 
nonpareil  under  him,  he  thought  if  he  could  bottle 
him  up  for  a  few  hundred  yards,  there  was  still  another 
run  to  be  got  out  of  him.  He  accordingly  took  a 
bracing  pull  on  his  horse,  and  though  it  was  "  go 
along  "  every  inch,  "Wagner  recovered  his  wind  so  as 
to  come  again  at  the  head  of  the  quarter-stretch. 
Stephen  long  ere  this  had  become  so  exhausted  as 
to  be  unable  to  give  Grey  Eagle  the  support  he 
required  ;  he  rode  wide,  swerving  considerably  from 
a  straight  line,  and  was  frequently  all  abroad  in  his 
seat.  From  the  Oakland  House  home,  it  was  a  terri- 
ble race  !  By  the  most  extraordinary  exertions  "Wag- 
ner got  up  neck  and  neck  with  "  the  gallant  gray," 
as  they  swung  round  the  turn  into  the  quarter-stretch. 
The  feelings  of  the  assembled  thousands  were  wrought 
up  to  a  pitch  absolutely  painful — silence  the  most 
profound  reigned  over  that  vast  assembly,  as  these 
noble  animals  sped  on  as  if  life  and  death  called  forth 
their  utmost  energies.  Both  jockeys  had  their  whip- 
hands  at  work,  and  at  every  stroke,  each  spur,  with  a 
desperate  stab,  was  buried  to  the  rowel-head.  Grey 
Eagle,  for  the  first  hundred  yards,  was  clearly  gain- 
ing ;  but  in  another  instant  Wagner  was  even  with 
him.  Both  were  out  and  doing  their  best.  It  was 
anybody's  race  yet !  Now  Wagner,  now  Grey 
Eagle,  luxs  the  advantage.  It  will  be  a  dead  heat ! 
"  See  !    Grey  Eagle's   got  him  !  "     "  No,  Wagner\« 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK,  121 

ahead  !  "  A  moment  ensues — the  peox^le  shout — 
hearts  throb— ladies  faint — a  thrill  of  emotion,  and 
the  race  is  over  !  "Wagner  wins  by  a  neck,  in  7.44, 
the  best  race  ever  ran  south  of  the  Potomac ;  while 
Kentucky's  gallant  champion  demonstrates  his  claim 
to  that  proud  title,  by  a  performance  which  throws 
into  the  shade  the  most  brilliant  ever  made  in  his 
native  State. 

Summary : 

Monday,  Sept.  30,  1839.— Sweepstakes  for  all  ages,  3  yr.  olds, 
carrying  86  lbs.— 4,  100—5,  110—6,  118—7  and  upwards,* 
124  lbs. ;  mares  and  geldings  allowed  3  lbs.  Ten  subscribers 
at  $2,000  each,  h.  ft.,  to  which  the  proprietors  added  tha 
receipts  of  the  stands.     Four  mile  heats. 

James  S.  Garrison's  and  John  Campbell's  ch.  h.  Wagner,  by  Sir 
Charles,  out  of  Maria  West,  by  Marion,  5  yrs.         Cato,  1 — 1 

Oliver  &  Dickey's  and  A.  L.  Shotwell's  gr.  c.  Grey  Eagle,  by 
Woodpecker,  out  of  Ophelia,  by  Wild  Medley, 
4  yrs Stephen  Welch,  2—2 

Capt.  Willa  Viley's  ch.  f.  Queen  Mary,  by  Bertrand,  dam  by 
Brirnmer,  4  yrs 3 — 3 

Bradley  «&  Steel's  ch.  c.  HaioTc-Eye,  by  Sir  Lovell,  out  of  Press- 
ure's dam,  by  Jenkin's  Sir  William,  4  yrs.         .         .         dist. 
Time,  7.48-7.44. 

To  say  that  "Wagner  was  better  managed  and  bet- 
ter jockeyed  in  this  race  than  Grey  Eagle,  is  to  express 
the  opinion  of  every  unprejudiced  individual  who 
had  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  it.  What  might  have 
been  the  result  of  the  race,  we  cannot  pretend  to  say, 
but  w^e  assert  with  perfect  confidence  our  belief,  that 
with  Gil.  Patrick  on  his  back,  Grey  Eagle  would  have 
6 


122  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.       . 

won  tlie  secon d  heat.  People  differ  in  opinion,  luckily, 
and  were  it  not  so,  we  should  be  in  a  mass.  Had  the 
managers  of  Grey  Eagle  been  content  to  bide  their 
time,  another  tale  might  have  been  told.  "  Wait  and 
win  "  carries  off  more  purses  than  "  Take  the  track 
and  keep  it."  Grey  Eagle  could  out-foot  Wagner  in 
a  brush  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards — he  clearly 
demonstrated  that  fact  half  a  dozen  times  in  the  course 
of  the  week ;  but  in  a  run  of  five  or  six  hundred 
yards,  Wagner  could  beat  him  about  the  same  distance. 
The  two  horses  were  so  nearly  matched,  that  good 
generalship  and  good  riding  did  the  business.  Instead 
of  allowing  him  to  go  forward  and  cut  out  the  work. 
Grey  Eagle  should  have  been  laid  quietly  behind, 
with  a  steady,  bracing  pull,  until  within  the  distance 
stand,  and  then  pulled  out,  and  made  to  win  if  he 
could.  That  was  his  only  chance  ;  tiring  down  Wag- 
ner is  like  tiring  down  a  locomotive. 

We  must  here  break  off,  but  not  without  remark- 
ing, that  after  being  weighed,  Cato  was  put  again  on 
Wagner,  and  with  the  stakes  in  his  hand — $14,000  ! — 
he  promenaded  in  front  of  the  stand,  preceded  by  a 
band  of  music,  playing  "  Old  Yirginny  never  tire." 
In  bringing  our  report  of  this  memorable  race  to  a 
conclusion,  we  must  not  neglect  to  record  the  gratify- 
ing fact,  that  notwithstanding  the  immense  throng 
of  spectators  on  the  ground,  and  the  peculiar  excite- 
ment of  the  occasion,  not  a  solitary  circumstance 
occurred  calculated  for  a  moment  to  interrupt  the 
harmony  and  general  good  feeling  wliicli  prevailed 
on  all  hands. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TORTER.  123 

"We  have  not  room  to  give  the  details  of  the  run- 
ning on  the  intermediate  days  of  the  meeting.  Suffice 
it  to  say,  that  the  fine  Medoc  filly  Cub  won  the  Post 
stake  for  3  years  olds,  in  3.45| — 3.44 ;  that  the  wood- 
pecker colt  Ealph  won  the  three-mile  purse  cleverly, 
in  5.50  each  heat ;  that  the  Eclipse  mare  Missouri 
won  the  Oakland  plate,  two-mile  heats,  in  3.50 — 3.44 
— 3.50  ;  and  that  several  other  exhibitions  of  beauty, 
game  and  speed  were  given  during  the  week.  The 
first  race  between  Wagner  and  Grey  Eagle  came  off 
on  Monday ;  on  Saturday  they  again  came  out  for 
the  Jockey  Club  purse  of  $1,500,  four-mile  heats. 
Throughout  the  week  the  weather  had  been  delightful, 
and  the  attendance  good  enough  to  realize  $15,000  to 
the  spirited  proprietor  ;  but  on  this  day  there  was  an 
immense  gathering  from  far  and  near,  and  the  sun 
never  shone  out  on  a  more  lovely  morning.  The 
attraction,  it  must  be  confessed,  could  not  have  been 
surpassed  —  Wagner  and  Grey  Eagle  were  again  to 
come  together!  After  their  race  on  Monday,  both 
parties  immediately  interested,  were  willing  to  draw 
off  their  forces,  and  enjoy  an  honorable  armistice  until 
next  spring ;  but  the  interference  and  misrepresentation 
of  sanguine  friends  ultimately  broke  off  the  truce  exist- 
ing between  them,  and  the  high  contracting  parties  set 
about  prosecuting  the  war  with  greater  zeal  and  energy 
than  ever.  Some  one  wrote  from  Louisville,  directly 
after  the  race,  to  the  eflect  that  Wagner  had  declined 
to  meet  Grey  Eagle  in  a  match  for  $10,000,  four-mile 
heats ;  which  letter  made  its  appearance  in  the  columns 
of   a  Lexington  journal.     This  statement  the  friends 


124  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK. 

of  Grey  Eagle  did  not  deny,  tliongli  it  was  made 
without  their  authority  ;  and  in  consequence  AVagner 
was  forced  to  notice  it.  In  an  article  "  by  authority," 
from  the  pen  of  a  distinguished  correspondent  of  the 
"  Spirit  of  the  Times,"  published  in  the  "  Louisville 
Journal "  on  the  5th  October,  the  writer  remarked 
to  the  following  effect : 

"  Wagner  and  Grey  Eagle. — The  reputation  of  his  horse  is 
dear  to  a  turf-man,  and  it  is  his  duty  to  shield  and  defend  it  as 
he  would  his  own  honor.  The  contest  between  "Wagner  and 
Grey  Eagle  will  long  be  remembered  by  those  who  witnessed  it. 
Wagner's  honors  were  nobly  won ;  he  earned  them  in  a  field  where 
every  inch  of  ground  was  closely  contested ;  and  any  one  who 
would  attempt  to  pluck  a  laurel  from  his  brow,  by  falsehood  or 
misrepresentation,  deserves  the  scorn  of  every  honorable  man. 

"  The  writer  of  this  has  been  induced  to  make  these  remarks, 
from  the  fact  that  a  letter  has  been  published  in  a  Lexington 
paper,  written  from  Louisville,  containing  a  statement  that  Grey 
Eagle  had  challenged  "Wagner  for  $10,000,  and  the  latter  had 
declined  the  contest.  This  statement  is  positively /a^^,  and  the 
owners  of  Grey  Eagle  will  cheerfully  bear  testimony  to  the  truth 
of  the  assertion.  The  facts  of  the  case  are  these  :  "Wagner  had 
gained  a  victory  over  Grey  Eagle — a  victory  in  which  even  the 
defeated  party  gained  the  brightest  laurels,  and  won  for  himself 
imperishable  fame.  Hence  "Wagner's  friends  prized  his  victory 
the  more  highly ;  and,  with  that  courtesy  towards  the  friends  of 
Grey  Eagle  which  is  ever  due  from  the  victor  to  the  vanquished, 
they  would  have  been  willing  to  leave  Kentucky,  perfectly  satis- 
fied with  his  performance.  He  is  willing  to  run  him  against 
Grey  Eagle,  or  any  other  horse  in  the  United  States,  four-mile 
heats,  for  $10,000,  or  any  amount  above  that  sum.  This  ofier  is 
made  with  no  disposition  to  detract  from  the  reputation  of  the 
game  and  gallant  Grey  Eagle,  but  solely  on  account  of  justice  to 
"Wagner,  who  lias  been  placed  in  a  situation  by  some  of  the  friends 
of  Grey  Eagle  that  leaves  no  aUernutivo." 


LITE    OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  125 

The  article  just  quoted  made  its  appearance  in  tlie 
"  Journal  "  on  the  morning  of  the  second  race,  which 
we  are  about  to  describe  ;  but  the  friends  of  Grey  Eagle 
were  prepared  to  see  it.  If  we  are  not  very  much 
mistaken,  it  was  read  to  its  owner,  as  it  was  to  several 
of  his  friends,  two  days  before  its  publication,  but 
was  delayed  in  the  hope  that  Grey  Eagle's  friends 
w^ould  contradict  the  statement  alluded  to.  In  the 
mean  time  both  horses  were  got  in  order,  to  make 
another  race.  AVe  saw  both  immediately  after  their 
first  race,  and  on  the  following  morning  ;  both  recov- 
ered well,  and  Grey  Eagle  especially  so,  exhibiting 
very  little  stiffness  or  soreness.  They  improved  from 
that  time  up  to  Saturday  morning,  and  we  never  saw 
two  high-mettled  racers  in  finer  condition  than  they 
were  when  stripped  to  run  their  second  race. 

In  anticipation  of  a  race,  which,  for  severity  and  in- 
terest, would  throw  the  first  into  the  shade,  both  parties 
were  wide  awake  to  secure  every  honorable  advantage 
within  their  reach.  Wagner's  rider,  Cato,  had  become 
free  about  the  time  of  the  first  race ;  if  he  rode  the 
second  as  well  as  he  did  the  first,  many  are  the  odd 
twenties  and  fifties  he  was  promised.  Stephen  Welch, 
Grey  Eagle's  jockey  in  his  first  race,  weighing  but  82 
pounds,  the  managers  of  the  horse  endeavored  to  find 
a  rider  nearer  up  to  his  proper  weight,  100  pounds. 
The  only  one  on  the  ground  preferable  to  their  own,  was 
Mr.  McCargo's  Archer,  a  very  capital  rider,  with  a 
good  seat,  a  steady  hand  and  a  cool  head.  Mr. 
McCargo  having  no  interest  whatever  in  the  race,  at 
once  placed  Archer's  services  at  the  disposal  of  Grey 


126  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

Eagle's  friends  ;  but  as  his  doing  so  might  possibly 
place  him  in  a  position  of  great  delicacy  and  embar- 
rassment, at  his  own  request  they  relieved  him  from 
it,  and  concluded  to  put  up  Stephen  Welch  again, 
whose  only  fault  Avas  that  there  was  not  enough  of 
him ! 

After  the  race  on  Monday,  the  topic  of  conversa- 
tion in  every  circle  was  the  prospect  of  a  second  one 
between  the  rival  champions.  The  Wagner  party 
were  not  anxious  for  a  race,  but  they  would  not  avoid 
one  ;  their  horse  had  not  only  realized  their  expecta- 
tions, but  had  exceeded  their  most  sanguine  hopes,  and 
they  were  prepared  to  back  him  to  "  the  size  of  their 
pile."  And  well  did  that  noble  son  of  a  worthy  sire 
justify  the  high  opinion  of  his  friends — a  small  circle, 
it  is  true,  but  they  were  staunch  and  firm  ;  and  when 
it  came  to  "  putting  up  the  mopasses,"  there  were 
enough  of  them  to  "  suit  customers,"  and  no  mis- 
take !  The  friends  of  Grey  Eagle  had  every  reason 
to  be  proud  of  the  first  performance  of  their  horse, 
and  they  were  so.  He  was  the  first  discoverer  of 
"  the  Forties  "  in  a  four-mile  race,  ever  bred  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  he  had  explored  the  degrees  of  pace  to 
the  latitude  of  44  below  the  equator !  All  this  he 
had  done  as  an  untried  four-year  old,  and  if  his  friends 
backed  him  with  less  confidence  now,  it  was  on  ac- 
count of  the  severe  race  he  had  made  five  days  pre- 
vious. He  was  in  fine  health,  and  his  look  and  action 
indicated  all  the  spirit  and  courage  of  a  game-cock, 
but  it  was  thought  physically  impossible  for  him  to 
make  such  another  race  as  his  first  in  the  same  week. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POUTER.  127 

The  betting  consequently  settled  down  at  two  and  three 
to  one  on  Wagner. 

It  will  naturally  be  supposed  that  the  rumor  of  a 
second  four-mile  race  betw^een  these  two  cracks, 
attracted  an  immense  crowd  of  spectators.  Many 
persons  came  down  from  Cincinnati,  while  the  citizens 
of  Lexington,  Frankfort,  Georgetown  and  the  circle 
of  towns  for  fifty  miles  about  Louisville,  turned  out 
in  great  numbers.  Again  the  city  was  crowded,  and 
on  the  morning  of  the  race  every  carriage  and  horse  in 
town  was  in  requisition.  Many  were  glad  to  get  out 
to  the  course  and  call  it  "  riding,"  when  jolting  along 
in  a  bone-setter,  compared  with  which  riding  on  a 
white-oak  rail  would  be  fun !  Again  the  ladies  turned 
out  en  masse,  to  grace  the  scene  with  their  radiant 
beauty,  and  "  lend  enchantment  to  the  view  "  of  the 
race — and  of  themselves. 

The  jockeys  having  received  their  instructions 
from  the  judges,  "  mounted  in  hot  haste,"  Cato  on 
"Wagner,  and  Stephen  Welch  on  Grey  Eagle.  The 
third  entry  was  Messrs.  Viley  &  Ward's  Emily  John- 
son— own  sister  to  Singleton,  and  half-sister  to  Mistle- 
toe— a  four-year  old  bay  filly  by  Bertrand,  out  of 
Black-eyed  Susan.  She  was  not  in  prime  fit,  and 
could  not,  therefore,  live  in  such  a  crowd. 

THE   RACE. 

At  the  word  "  Go,"  Wagner  went  off  with  the 
lead  at  about  three  parts  speed,  Emily  lying  second, 
and  all  three  under  a  strong  pull.     Grey  Eagle's  long, 


128  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

steady  stride,  after  getting  into  straight  work  going 
down  the  back  stretch,  soon  brought  him  up  with 
the  field ;  and  opposite  the  Oakland  House — about 
300  yards  beyond  the  half-mile  post — the  three  were 
lapped.  The  pace  now  improved  ;  Grey  Eagle  drew 
out  at  the  last  turn,  but  Wagner  having  the  inside, 
and  beginning  to  get  warm,  made  sharp  running  up 
the  stretch  to  the  stand,  and  on  the  next  turn  came 
out  clear  in  front.  Down  the  back  stretch  they  each 
kept  up  a  good  racing  stroke,  but  at  the  Oakland 
House,  Grey  Eagle  increased  his  stride  and  locked 
"Wagner ;  as  neither  was  yet  called  upon,  a  very  fair 
view  w^as  had  of  their  relative  rate  of  going ;  Grey 
Eagle  led  down  to  the  head  of  the  stretch  and  up  to 
the  stand  by  half  a  length,  and  immediatel}^  after 
came  in  front.  He  carried  on  the  running  two  lengths 
in  advance  to  near  the  termination  of  the  mile,  when 
Wagner  got  a  hint  to  extend  himself;  without  lapping 
him,  Wagner  waited  upon  him  to  close  up,  and  oppo- 
site the  Oakland  House  made  his  run  ;  the  rally  that 
ensued  was  a  very  brilliant  affair,  but  Grey  Eagle 
out-footed  him  in  one  hundred  yards,  and  drew  out 
clear  amidst  tremendous  cheers  from  all  parts  of  the 
course.  The  instant  Wagner  declined,  Emily  took  his 
place,  lapping  the  Grey  as  they  swung  round  the  turn. 
But  Wagner  had  yet  another  run  left,  and  they  had 
no  sooner  got  into  the  quarter-stretch  than  Cato  set  to 
work  with  him.  Grey  Eagle  had  been  able  to  pull 
to  Emily,  and  accordingly,  when  Wagner  by  an  extra- 
ordinary effort  reached  him  half-way  up  the  stretch, 
lie  was  able  to  outfoot  him  a  second  time,  and  came 


LITE    OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  129 

away  home  a  gallant  winner  by  .nearly  a  length, 
Emily  having  the  second  place,  amidst  the  waving 
of  hats  and  handkerchiefs,  and  tumultuous  cheers, 
that  would  well-nigh  have  drowned  the  roar  of  Nia- 
gara !  The  first  mile  was  run  in  2.05 — the  second  in 
1.55 — the  third  in  1.56 — the  fourth  in  1.55  ;  making 
the  time  of  the  heat  7.51. 

The  heartfelt  gratification  and  rapture  exhibited 
at  the  close  of  the  heat  by  the  assembled  thousands, 
knew  no  bounds.  Kentucky's  most  distinguished 
sons,  and  her  loveliest  daughters,  felt  alike  interested, 
and  Grey  Eagle's  success  was  enjoyed  as  if  each  was 
personally  concerned.  The  odds,  from  being  two  and 
three  to  one  in  favor  of  "Wagner,  now  changed,  and 
Grey  Eagle  had  the  call  at  four  to  three.  Consider- 
able sums  were  staked,  as  Garrison  declared  "  the  old 
sorrel  stud  "  had  sulked,  but  would  show  his  hand 
the  next  heat.  The  fact  was.  Grey  Eagle  for  the 
first  time  had  been  properly  managed ;  instead  of 
running  the  whole  last  half-mile,  he  had  taken  advan- 
tage of  the  ground,  and  made  his  first  run  down 
the  descent  from  the  Oaldand  House  to  the  head  of 
the  stretch,  and  then  being  braced  up  for  three  hun- 
dred yards,  which  allowed  him  time  to  recover  his 
wind,  he  was  able  to  come  again  and  make  a  second 
rally,  as  brilliant  as  the  first.  As  we  before  re- 
marked, we  think  Wagner  could  beat  Grey  Eagle  by 
a  desperate  rush  for  six  hundred  yards  at  the  heel  of 
a  very  fast  heat,  but  not  over  a  head  and  shoulders  at 
that ;  while  Grey  Eagle  had  so  much  more  speed, 
that  in  a  brush  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  he 
6* 


130  LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    POKTER. 

could  let  in  the  daylight  between  them.  With  so 
light  and  feeble  a  rider  as  Stephen  on  his  back,  it  was 
imiDossible  to  place  Grey  Eagle  exactly  as  his  man- 
agers would  have  liked,  tliough  he  is  a  fine-tempered 
horse,  and  runs  kindly  ;  the  result  of  the  race,  we 
trust,  will  be  a  caution  to  them  hereafter,  how  they 
venture  in  a  race  of  so  much  importance  without  j)i*o- 
viding  that  most  indispensable  of  requisites  to  success 
— a  suitable  jockey.  Both  horses  jierspired  freely,  and 
in  much  less  time  than  could  have  been  expected  they 
cooled  out  finely  ;  neither  hung  out  a  signal  of  dis- 
tress, but  came  up  for  the  second  heat  with  distended 
nostrils  and  eyes  of  fire,  betokening  the  most  unflinch- 
ing courage.  At  the  tap  of  the  drum  the  horses  were 
hardly  in  motion,  and  Cato  drew  his  whip  on  Wagner 
the  very  first  jump.  The  pace  was  little  better  than 
a  hand-gallop  for  the  first  half-mile,  but  as  Wagner 
led  past  the  entrance-gate,  Gooding  bid  hijn  "  go 
along,"  and  he  increased  his  rate.  Stephen  seeing 
this,  let  the  gray  out  a  link,  and  in  going  down  the 
descending  ground  below  the  Oakland  House,  went 
up  on  the  inside  so  suddenly,  that  he  had  locked  Wag- 
ner before  Cato  was  aware  of  his  close  proximity. 
The  run  up  the  quarter-stretch  was  a  pretty  fast  thing, 
though  neither  was  doing  his  best ;  the  time  of  the 
mile  was  2.08.  The  crowd  cheered  them  as  they  ran 
lapped  past  the  stand,  at  which  Grey  Eagle  pricked 
up  his  ears  and  set  to  work  in  earnest,  shaking  off 
Wagner  at  the  next  turn.  The  race  had  now  com- 
menced ;  Stephen  braced  his  horse  as  well  as  he 
was  able,  and  kept  him  up  to  his  rate  down  the  entire 


LITE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  131 

length  of  the  back  stretch.     At  the  Oakland  House 
Cato  again  called  on  Wagner,  and  steel  and  catgut 
came  into  play.     The  gallant  gray  led  clear  to  the 
turn,  and  half-way  up  the  stretch,  Stephen  beginning 
to  use  his  whip-hand,  and  to  give  the  nonpareil  under 
him  an  occasional  eye-opener  with  the  spur.     This 
mile  was  run  in  1.52.     They  passed  the  stand  neck 
and  neck,  Emily  being  already  nearly  out  of  her  dis- 
tance.    From  the  stand  to  the  first  turn  the  ground  is 
descending,  and  here  almost  invariably  Grey  Eagle 
gamed  upon  Wagner,  who  ke^^t  up  one  steady  stride 
from  end  to  end,  without  flinching  or  faltering,  and 
able  always  to  do  a  little  more  when  persuaded  by  the 
cold  steel  with  which  Cato  plied  him  ever  and  anon 
throughout  the  heat.     We  said  they  passed  the  stand 
on  the  second  mile  neck  and  neck  ;  when  they  reached 
the  turn  Grey  Eagle  had  got  in  front,  but  no  sooner 
had  they  come  into  straight  work  on  the  back  side, 
than  Wagner  made  a  most  determined  challenge  and 
locked  him  ;  the  contest  was  splendid,  and  was  main- 
tained with  unflinching  game  and  spirit ;   at  the  end 
of  700  yards,  however,  Grey  Eagle  had  the  best  of 
it,  for  in  spite  of  Cato's  most  desperate  efforts  Wagner 
could  only  reach  Stephen's  knee  ;  Grey  Eagle  seemed 
able,  after  a  brush  of  one  hundred  yards,  to  come  again 
with  renewed   vigor ;    if  well  braced,  for   a   dozen 
strides.     Down   the  descent,  on   the  last  half-mile, 
Grey  Eagle  maintained  his  advantage,  but  on  descend- 
ing towards  the  stand  Wagner's  strength  told,  and 
they  came  through  under  w^hip  and  spur,  Wagner 
having  his  head  and  neck  in  front,  running  this  mile 


132  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM    T.    POKTER. 

in  1.55.  Steplien  was  here  instructed  to  take  a  strong 
pull  on  his  horse,  and  to  "  hee^p  Mm  moving,''^  while 
"  ra77i  the  spurs  into  him,''^  were  the  orders  to  Cato. 
The  result  was  that  Wagner  came  in  front,  and  the 
pace  down  the  entire  back  stretch  was  tremendous, 
both  being  kept  up  to  their  rate  by  the  most  terrible 
punishment.  Unfortunately,  Stejihen  was  directed  to 
"  take  the  trad  "  about  opposite  the  Oakland  House, 
instead  of  putting  the  issue  on  a  brush  up  the  last 
200  yards  of  the  heat.  Too  soon  the  gallant  Grey 
was  called  upon,  but  true  as  steel  the  noble  animal 
responded  to  it.  With  the  most  dauntless  courage  he 
made  his  run  down  the  descending  ground,  and 
though  Wagner,  like  the  bravest  of  the  brave,  as  he 
is,  made  the  most  desperate  efforts.  Grey  Eagle  came 
round  the  last  turn  on  the  outside,  with  his  head  and 
shoulders  in  front,  at  a  flight  of  speed  we  never  saw 
equalled.  Both  jockeys  were  nearly  faint  with  their 
exertions,  and  Stephen,  poor  fellow,  lost  his  presence 
of  mind.  Up  to  the  distance  stand  it  was  impossible 
to  say  which  was  ahead ;  whips  and  spurs  had  been 
in  constant  requisition  the  entire  mile,  but  at  this 
moment  Stephen  gave  up  his  pull,  and  unconsciously 
yawed  the  horse  across  the  track,  which  broke  him  off 
his  stride,  while  Cato,  holding  Wagner  well  together, 
and  mercilessly  dashing  in  his  spurs,  at  length  brought 
him  through,  a  gallant  winner  by  a  neck,  having  run 
the  last  mile  in  1.48,  and  the  heat  in  Y.43  ! 

This  was,  without  exception,  the  most  game  and 
spirited  race  we  ever  witnessed.  Tlie  heat  was  Wag- 
ner's, and  while  we  accord  to  him  all  the  reputation 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK.  133 

SO  brilliantly  won  after  a  bloody  struggle  of  nearly 
three  miles,  we  feel  bound  to  express  tlie  belief,  that 
for  an  untried  four-year-old,  Grey  Eagle's  performance 
is  without  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  the  American 
Turf !  The  last  three  miles  of  a  second  heat,  in  a 
second  four-mile  race  the  same  week,  were  run  in 
5.35,  and  the  eighth  mile  in  1.48  ! 

Tlie  enthusiasm  of  the  spectators  was  now  excited 
to  the  highest  pitch.  Tliere  was  not  on  the  ground, 
probably,  an  individual  who  would  not  have  been 
pleased  to  see  the  horses  withdrawn,  and  the  purses 
divided  between  them,  rather  than  farther  task  the 
indomitable  game  and  courage  of  these  noble  ani- 
mals ;  but  no  such  proposition  was  made,  and  after 
the  usual  respite  they  were  brought  to  the  post  a 
third  time,  and  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  decide 
which  had  recovered  best.  So  much  feeling  was 
manifested  in  reference  to  the  horses,  that  the  baser 
impulses  to  bet  on  the  result  of  the  concluding  heat 
were  almost  entirely  disregarded  ;  odds,  however,  were 
in  a  few  instances  offered  on  Wagner.  In  detailing 
the  contest  for  the  third  heat,  we  are  compelled  to 
record 

"A  few  of  tlie  unpleasaatest  words 
That  e'er  man  writ  on  paper !  " 

At  the  word  "  ^70,"  they  broke  off  with  a  racing 
stride,  Wagner  taking  the  lead  by  about  two  lengths ; 
the  pace  was  moderate,  for  Stephen  on  Grey  Eagle 
was  expressly  charged  to  pull  him  steady,  and  wait 
for  orders.     Wagner  accordingly  led  with  an  easy 


134  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TORTEK. 

stroke  throiigli  the  first  mile,  and  being  cheered  as 
he  passed  the  stand,  he  widened  the  gap  soon  after  to 
four  or  five  lengths.  At  the  half-mile  post  Grey 
Eagle  made  play,  and  had  nearly  closed  the  gap  as 
they  came  opposite  the  Oakland  House,  when  he  sud- 
denly faltered  as  if  shot,  and  after  limping  a  step  or 
two,  abruptly  stopped !  "  Grey  Eagle  has  let  doion  !  " 
was  the  cry  on  all  hands,  and  when  the  spectators 
became  aware  of  the  truth  of  the  painful  announce- 
ment, the  tearful  eyes  of  a  radiant  host  of  Kentucky's 
daughters,  and  the  heartfelt  sorrow  depicted  in  the 
countenance  of  her  sons,  indicated  the  sincerity  of 
the  sympathy  with  which  they  regarded  the  untimely 
accident  to  their  game  and  gallant  champion  !  It  was 
supposed,  on  a  hasty  examination,  that  Grey  Eagle 
had  given  way  in  the  back  sinews  of  his  left  fore 
leg,  but  it  has  since  been  ascertained  that  the  in- 
jury was  in  the  cofiin  joint.  Mr.  Burbridge  on  the 
instant  tightly  bandaged  the  leg  with  a  stout  strip  of 
dry  canvas,  which  being  kept  wet,  would  have  pre- 
vented the  horse  from  coming  down  on  his  pastern 
joints,  even  had  his  leaders  given  way.  A  fortnight 
after  the  race  the  horse  promised  to  recover  perfectly ; 
Mr..  Shotwell  informed  us  that  the  ankle  and  joint 
were  a  little  swollen,  but  neither  the  horse's  pastern 
nor  cannon  bones  were  affected,  and  his  leaders  were 
as  stout  as  ever.  We  need  not  add,  that,  while  his 
owners  and  managers  have  the  cordial  spnpathy 
of  their  friends,  and  the  Sporting  World  generally, 
there  is  no  one  "  with  soul  so  dead "  as  to  with- 
hold the  expression  of  their  admiration  of  the  gal- 


LIFE    OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  135 

lant  gray,  and  their  heartiest  wishes  for  his  speedy 
recovery. 

Soon  after  Grey  Eagle  was  stopped,  Cato  pulled 
Wagner  out  of  his  stride,  and  galloped  him  slowly 
round.  The  intelligence  of  the  high-mettled  racer 
was  clearly  indicated  by  Wagner's  subsequent  action ; 
from  the  head  of  the  stretch  home  he  invariably  went 
at  a  racing  j)ace,  and  appeared  as  if  he  did  not  know 
what  was  required  of  him,  frequently  bursting  off  in 
spite  of  his  rider.  On  the  fourth  mile,  as  he  passed 
his  own  stable,  the  rubbers  and  riders  standing  on  its 
roof  gave  him  a  hearty  cheer,  and  the  gallant  horse 
broke  off,  and  in  spite  of  Cato's  utmost  exertions,  ran 
at  the  very  top  of  his  speed  for  nearly  500  yards,  as 
if  plied  with  steel  and  whalebone  the  whole  way ! 
We  never  saw  a  more  magnificent  exhibition  of  un- 
flinching game ;  even  the  friends  of  Grey  Eagle  forgot 
their  distress  for  a  moment,  in  doing  justice  by  a 
cheer  to  the  gallant  and  victorious  champion  of 
Louisiana ! 

Recapitulation  : 

Saturday,  Oct.  5. — Jockey  Club  purse,  $1,500,  conditions  as  be- 
fore, four-mile  heats.  James  S.  Garrison's  and  John  Camp- 
bell's ch.  h.  Wagner,  by  Sir  Charles,  out  of  Maria  West,  by 
Marion,  5  yrs Cato,  3 — 1 — 1 

A.  L.  Shotwell's  gr.  c.  Grey  Eagle,  by  Woodpecker,  out  of 
Ophelia,  by  Wild  Medley,  4  yrs.  Stephen  Welch,  1 — 2  * 

Willa  Viley's  b.  f.  Emily  Johnson,  own  sister  to  Singleton,  by 
Bertrand,  out  of  Black-eyed  Susan,  by  Tiger,  4  yrs.  2  dist. 
Time,  Y.51 — 7.43 — third  heat,  no  time  kept. 

*  Grey  Eagle  gave  way  in  second  mile. 


136 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAai   T.    POKTEK, 


For  more  convenient  reference,  we  repeat  the  time 
of  eacli  mile  in  tabular  form  : 


1st  mill 
2d  " 
3d  " 
4th    " 


2.05 
1.55 
1.56 
1.55 


Second  Heat. 
1st  mile 


2.08 
1.52 
1.55 
1.48 


No  time  kept,  as  Grey 
Eagle  gave  way  in  run- 
ning the  second  mile. 


American  Turf  Register,  vol  ii.,  p.  119. 


CHAPTEK   YI. 

In  the  month  of  October,  1840,  the  editor 
writes : 

"  During  the  wliole  of  tlie  last  three  years,  the  high  rate  of 
exchange,  and  the  deranged  condition  of  commercial  affairs 
thi-oughout  the  country,  have  rendered  a  continual  struggle 
against  the  evils  that  followed  in  their  train  absolutely  essential 
to  the  maintenance  of  our  position,  and  have  forced  us  to  the 
most  disagreeable  and  ruinous  expedients.  Like  others,  we  flat- 
tered ourselves,  from  month  to  month,  and  from  year  to  year, 
that  a  transition  to  better  times  could  not  be  far  distant,  and  we 
determined  to  defer  yet  a  little  longer  the  earnest  appeal  which 
we  must  now  make  to  the  sense  of  justice  of  every  subscriber  to 
either  of  our  publications.  The  prompt  payment  of  whatever 
sums  which  may  be  due  to  us,  is  the  only  means  by  which  we 
can  hope  to  sustain  ourselves  as  proprietors  of  periodicals  not 
entirely  unworthy  the  countenance  and  support  of  the  sporting 
world,  as  the  sole  accredited  organs  and  official  records  of  what- 
ever pertains  to  the  American  Turf." 

Another,  and  a  vexations  annoyance,  induced  the 
editor  to  appeal  to  the  "  felons  "  who  had  deprived 


138  LIFE   OF   WILLI  Ail   T.    POKTEK. 

him,  at  one  fell  swoop,  of  new  and  valuable  music, 
and  an  023era-glass : 

"  We  live,"  said  lie,  "  in  a  musical  age  and  in  a  musical  coun- 
try ;  but  that  is  not  a  good  reason  (though  perhaps  a  rational 
one  as  times  go)  that  there  should  be  a  community  in  musical 
property.  Yet  such  a  jihase  of  agrarianism  has  certainly  pre- 
sented itself  within  these  few  days  before  our  lamenting  eyes. 
And  now  exjjerientia  docet  what  we  had  been  before  taught 
theoretically  to  believe — videlicet :  Abstracting  opera-glasses  is 
a  custom,  which,  as  '  Soft  Recorders '  have  said  or  sung,  '  is 
practised  to  a  great  extent  in  this  country !  '  " 

While  Mr.  Porter  was  at  the  South,  the  sad  intel- 
ligence reached  him  of  the  death  of  his  brother  Ben- 
jamin, on  the  11th  of  December,  1840,  bj  pulmonary 
consumption.  He  was  designed  for  college,  but  pre- 
ferred the  stirring  activity  of  mercantile  pursuits,  and 
while  pre^jaring  for  his  chosen  walk  in  life,  was  a 
member  of  the  family  of  Hon.  George  Blake,  of  Bos- 
ton, then  United  States  Attorney  for  the  District  of 
Massachusetts.  Not  long  after  commencing  business, 
in  Mobile,  Ala.,  he  married  Kebecca  Setoii  Maitland, 
of  New  York,  a  ward  of  the  Kt.  Kev.  Bislioi)  Hobart. 
He  had  clear  perceptions,  cool  judgment,  remarkable 
shrewdness,  and  was  stamped  with  more  than  ordi- 
nary mental  vigor.  In  the  words  of  Horace  Greeley 
to  the  writer,  "  he  was  a  strong  character,"  but  want- 
ing that  stimulus  to  exertion  which  the  pursuit  of  a 
competency  keej^s  alive  and  effective ;  his  really 
remarkable  capabilities  were  never  fully  developed. 
Happy  are  they  whose  circumstances  are  the  spur  to 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  139 

useful  and  generous  toil,  be  it  mental  or  bodily  ;  so 
that  "  the  Spring  and  Summer  of  life  may  be  prepara- 
tory to  the  harvest  of  Autumn,  and  the  repose  of 
winter," 

On  his  return  to  New  York  in  1841,  from  the 
South  and  West,  Mr.  Porter  thus  playfully  alludes  to 
the  overwhelming  load  of  commissions  for  Southern 
and  Western  friends  that  required  his  first  attention 
upon  getting  home : 

"  Every  nook  and  corner  of  tlie  office  we  find  filled  with 
letters  and  communications,  and  we  have  commissions  enough  to 
employ  seven  men  and  a  boy  for  a  fortnight.  All  sorts  of  '  fixins ' 
are  wanted  from  blood  horses  to  copper  coal  scuttles — from  long- 
tailed  sows  and  short-legged  pigs,  to  jockey  spurs  and  patent 
lightning-rods.  One  gentleman  alone  wants  a  3-year-old  Bare- 
foot colt,  a  gardener,  a  trotting  stallion,  a  3-year-old  jockey,  a 
Durham  bull,  a  trainer  and  a  mousetrap !  Nothing,  however, 
gives  us  more  pleasure  than  to  have  it  in  our  power  to  oblige  our 
friends ;  and  as  we  are  in  want  of  all  sorts  of  truck,  persons  would 
do  well  to  make  known  at  this  office  if  they  have  '  on  sale  or  to 
let '  either  setters  or  saddles,  chestnut  horses  or  horse  chestnuts, 
rifles  or  radish-seed,  fighting  cocks  or  patent  axle-trees,  frogs 
for  frying  or  tragedians  for  dying,  wet  nurses  or  salmon  flies, 
Muscovy  hens  or  pointers,  pidlets,  Chifney  bits,  or  Smith's  Lay 
Sermons,  indelible  ink  or  Ely's  wire  cartridges,  camp  meeting 
hymn  books  or  Conroy's  best  trout  rods,  three-year-old  fillies  or 
presents  for  New  Year's,  Bowie  knives  or  Nicholas  Nickleby,  the 
last  ladies'  fashions  or  songs  of  Jim  Crow,  old  files  of  the  '  Spirit ' 
or  the  latest  new  caricatures,  tandem  whips  or  country-house 
almanacs,  racing  plates  or  French  mustard,  patent  side-saddles  or 
ivory  toddy-sticks,  timing  watches  or  Troy-built  coaches.  "We 
cannot  begin  to  think  of  half  the  things  that  are  marked  down  in 
our  memorandum-book,  under  the  general  head  of  '^ca?^^' 
though  several  leaves  might  be  filled  up  with  our  own  under  the 
head  of  '  New  Subsciibcrs,'  and  '  Available  funds." 


140  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK. 

Ill  the  number  for  March  27,  1841,  may  be  found 
that  most  admirable  sketch  of  backwoods  life,  the 
"j5/(/  Bear  of  Arl'a7isas,"  which  was  expressly  writ- 
ten for  the  j)aper,  by  the  author  of  "  Tom  Owen  the 
Bee  Hunter,"  Col.  T.  B.  Thorpe,  who,  now  in  the 
mutation  of  all  sublunary  things,  is  no  longer  a  resi- 
dent of  Louisiana,  but  of  New  York,  and  a  successor 
to  his  old  friend  and  patron,  as  one  of  the  editors  and 
proprietors  of  the  very  paper  which,  nearly  a  score  of 
years  ago,  was  enriched  by  his  graphic  delineations 
and  quiet  humor. 

While  in  New  Orleans,  Mr.  Porter  witnessed  the 
race  between  Sarah  Bladen  and  Luda,  which  was 
won  by  the  former  in  Y.45 — 7.40  ;  and  which  he  pro- 
nounced at  the  time  to  be  the  best  race  ever  run  south 
of  the  Potomac  ;  a  few  weeks  afterwards  he  wrote  to 
the  '  Spirit ' : 

"  I  have  now  to  write  that  on  this,  the  20th  day  of  March,  I 
have  seen  a  race  which  throws  the  one  referred  to,  comparatively 
in  the  shade.  Kely  upon  it  Grey  Medoc's  race  to-day,  is  the  best 
race  ever  run  in  America  !  I  have  witnessed  nearly  all  the  great 
performances  on  the  Turf  for  several  years  past,  but  I  have  never 
seen  a  race  more  desperately  contested,  or  more  gallantly  won. 
Even  the  beaten  horses  have  acquired  a  reputation  which  a  suc- 
cession of  bloodless  victories  would  not  have  won  for  them.  I 
doubt  if  it  will  ever  be  my  good  fortune  to  see  such  another  per- 
formance, and  much  do  I  regret  that  want  of  ability  not  less  than 
leisure,  i)revents  my  doing  justice  to  a  race  that  will  occupy  the 
most  distinguished  place  in  the  racing  calendar,  and  go  down 
through  all  time  as  one  of  the  most  magnificent  exhibitions  on 
record  of  tiie  surpassing  speed  and  game  of  the  High  Mettled 
Racer  of  America.     It  was  a  four-mile  race  over  the  Louisiana 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  141 

Course,  {over  a  mile  in  lengthy)  won  by  Grey  Medoc.     Beating 
Altorf  and  Denizen.     Time  :  7.35—8.19—7.42—8.17." 

The  paper  of  June  5  contains  several  columns  of 
interesting  matter,  written  by  the  editor  while  in 
Kentucky  ;  we  can  spare  room  but  for  a  single  para- 
graph : 

"  Since  my  arrival  in  Kentucky,  I  think  I  must  have  seen 
from  one  to  two  thousand  thorough-bred  colts !  I  have  tramped 
miles  upon  miles  through  the  magnificent  woodland  pastures, 
admiring  the  diflerent  varieties  of  the  'long'  and  '  short '  horned 
cattle,  and  the  cattle  with  no  horns  at  all,  and  have  come  to 
think  no  small  beer  of  myself  as  a  judge  of  long-tailed  pigs  and 
flat-tailed  sheep.  I  do  not  '  cotton  '  to  mules,  though  I  saw  four 
driven  up  to  the  door  of  the  Gait  House  this  morning,  (May  27tb,") 
hitched  to  the  mail  stage  between  this  city  (Louisville)  and  Nash- 
ville ;  they  run  out  and  into  town  daily,  making  sixteen  miles, 
and  trot  eight  miles  an  hour,  the  driver  teUs  me.  But  as  for  the 
'  splendid  Jacks '  you  hear  so  much  of,  they  can  give  odds  to 
any  thing  wearing  hair  for  ugliness  ;  if  Balaam's  ass  was  such  a 
fright  as  some  I've  seen  here,  it  is  not  so  surprising  that  he 
spoke ;  each  particular  bone  and  hair  in  his  skin  must  have 
ached !  " 

In  the  '  Spirit  "  of  ]^ov.  13,  the  editor  thus  chron- 
icles the  return  of  his  friend  Eobert  L.  Stevens,  from 
Europe,  after  an  absence  of  a  few  months  ; 

"  '  Stephens'  Travels  in  South  America '  is  the  most  popular 
book  of  the  season,  but  it  would  be  so  no  longer  if  our  neighbor 
Mr.  Stevens,  of  Barclay  Street,  would  '  witch  the  world  '  with  an 
account  of  the  thousand  and  one  rare  things  he  has  seen  and 
heard,  men  and  women,  too,  inclusive,  during  his  tour  of  some 
ten  thousand  miles  or  more.     He  heard  Kubini  and  Lablache, 


142  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK. 

and  saw  Coronation  win  the  Derby.  He  has  seen  Ghiucus  and 
Louis  Philippe,  the  Royal  Yacht  Club,  and  the  Alps.  lie  saw 
mucli  of  Hamburg,  but  a  good  deal  more  of  humbug.  He  visited 
the  most  celebrated  breeding  studs  in  England,  and  the  veritable 
Maria  Farina  at  Cologne.  He  saw  Taglione  in  the  Beyadere, 
and  the  National  Column  at  the  Place  Vendome.     He  visited 

Tattersall's  at ,  and  the  Emperor  at  Vienna ;  raised  his  hat 

to  the  Pope  in  Rome,  and  to  the  Queen  of  Beauty  in  Buckingham 
Palace.  He  has  ridden  in  the  diligence  at  Calais,  and  the  pony 
phaston  at  Windsor.  Has  talked  horse  with  Prince  Albert,  and 
soft  nonsense  with  Rachel.  The  doors  of  science,  genius  and 
fashion  were  thrown  open  to  him,  and  the  Marquis  of  Waterford 
wrenched  off  the  knocker  of  his  lodgings.  He  visited  the  '  Curios- 
ity Shop  '  with  the  Boss,  ('  Boz,')  and  thought  of  '  Old  Nap '  and 
Boston  on  the  field  of  Waterloo.  He  achieved  the  dinners  at 
Milan  while  he  abominated  the  chops  of  the  Channel.  He  saw 
Deaf  Burke  set-to  in  London,  and  set  to  Isabey  himself  in  Paris. 
Brougham  he  thought  had  a  very  queer  handle,  (who  7iose?)  and  he 
saw  all  the  world  in  Hyde  Park.  He  found  Compte  d'Orsay's  tiger 
quite  tame,  and  thought  Mrs.  Norton  very  like  an  '  undying  one ; ' 
He  heard  her  new  comedy,  and  Soult  rehearse  his  old  campaigns. 
He  saw  Byron's  Chateau  near  Genoa,  and  Harkaway's  stables  at 

the .     He  walked  through  the  Tunnel  and  the  Louvre,  over 

the  Vatican  and  Epsom  Downs.  He  saw  the  sausage  makers  at 
Boulogne,  and  the  sausage  eaters  at  Berlin.  He  '  took  a  private 
drink '  with  Metternich  at  Johannisberg,  and  '  pot  luck '  with 
the  Duke  at  Apsley  House.  He  saw  Jem  Ward  and  Mme.  Laf- 
farge  ;  the  Due  d'Orleans  and  Mrs.  Trollope  ;  the  Tower  and  the 
guillotine ;  Crockford's  Club  and  the  Palais  Royal ;  the  house 
that  Jack  built  and  Westminster  Abbey.  He — but  we  must 
stop  short." 

In  1 842  a  change  took  j)lace  in  the  proprietorship 
of  the  paper,  whicli  resulted  from  a  variety  of  eircuni- 
stances.  The  management  of  all  its  departments, 
fiscal  and  literary,  in  the  hard  times  then  Aveighing 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    P0RTP:K.  143 

down  the  community,  was  too  great  a  tax  on  the 
energies  of  any  one  person ;  w^liile  the  rninons  dis- 
count upon  AVestern  and  Southern  bank  notes,  added 
to  the  depressed  state  of  the  coimtry,  and  the  back- 
wardness of  subscribers  to  liquidate  their  accounts, 
(the  amount  then  due  to  the  oftice  being  more  than 
forty  thousand  dollars,)  rendered  it  impossible  longer 
to  carry  on  the  war  under  such  adverse  circumstances. 
To  perfect  some  proposed  improvements  in  the  paper, 
and  to  relieve  the  editor  of  a  portion  of  the  arduous 
and  responsible  duties  which  had  hitherto  devolved 
upon  him,  the  husincss  of  the  office  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  John  Richards,  a  printer  by  profession, 
and  who,  up  to  the  last  week  of  his  life  in  February, 
1859,  gave  strict  attention  to  its  various  details.  The 
writer  was  acquainted  with  Mr.  Eichards  for  years 
before  the  sale  of  the  paper  to  him,  and  met  him  at 
the  "  Spirit "  office  only  a  few  days  before  his  unex- 
pected death  ;  during  all  that  time,  he  ever  found 
"  The  Governor  "  an  honest,  reliable  and  independent 
■  man. 

In  April,  Mr.  Porter  published  a  very  thorough 
and  well-considered  article  called  "  Profit  and  Loss 
Account "  of  the  "  Spirit,"  a  j)art  of  w^hich  we  insert. 
After  alluding  to  the  perplexities  of  some  of  the  pre- 
vious years,  he  pertinently  asks  : 

"  "What  has  been  effected  by  all  this  labor  of  years,  followed 
up  under  such  discouragement  and  annoyances ;  what  has  the 
'  Spirit  of  the  Times  '  done  for  the  Turf  or  the  Sporting  "World  ? 
To  this  we  proceed  to  answer : 

"  It  has  added  thirty  per  cext.  to  the  value  of  rlood 


144  LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

STOCK  throughout  the  United  States  !  In  this  we  are  borne  out 
not  alone  by  our  own  observation,  but  by  the  testimony  of  the 
most  sagacious  Turfmen  in  the  country,  and  the  most  extensive 
Breeders.  Nor  in  the  universal  decline  of  prices  consequent 
upon  the  disordered  currency  of  the  last  few  years,  has  the  price 
of  Blood  Stock  fallen  so  rapidly  or  so  low  as  other  descriptions 
of  property.  This  paper  was  the  first  that  ever  paid  Travelling 
Correspondents,  by  which  the  earliest  and  most  important  Sport- 
ing Intelligence  was  procured  and  disseminated,  and  by  which  a 
system  of  Correspondence  was  established  through  which  events 
of  interest  transpiring  hundreds  of  miles  distant  have  been  com- 
municated and  published  in  its  columns  at  a  date  as  early  in 
many  cases  as  in  tlie  local  newspapers.  The  utmost  efforts  were 
requisite  and  immense  expense  was  involved  for  several  years 
before  it  was  possible  to  effect  this  consummation.  In  its  early 
career,  too,  the  '  Spirit '  had  to  contend  with  many  formidable 
rivals,  which  one  by  one  either  broke  down  or  were  withdrawn. 
"  The  salutary  effects  of  reporting  every  race  in  the  Union  and 
in  Canada,  and  the  principal  ones  in  Great  Britain,  are  manifest 
in  the  increased  degree  of  good  feeling  and  intimacy  existing 
between  the  Turfmen  and  Breeders  of  the  different  States — in  the 
promotion  of  the  sales  of  horses,  in  the  Importation  of  choice 
Blood  from  abroad,  and  in  the  encouragement  of  the  best  of  our 
IsTative  Bred  Stock,  And  no  sensible  person  can  doubt  that 
hundreds  of  individuals  have  been  induced,  by  reading  of  the 
success  of  others,  to  invest  large  sums  in  Stock,  and  enter  exten- 
sively both  upon  Breeding  and  Racing— than  which  no  iavest- 
ment  can  be  more  honorable,  or  more  advantageous  to  the 
Agricultural  Interests  of  the  country.  Thousands  have  borne 
testimony,  and  will  yet  do  so,  with  what  zeal  this  department  of 
the  paper  has  been  conducted,  and  how  beneficial  an  influence  it 
has  exerted  upon  their  individual  revenues.  IIow  many  young 
Trainers  have  we  brought  into  notice,  and  inspirited  to  become 
useful  and  respectable  members  of  society;  and  how  many 
jockeys  have  been  convinced  that  '  honesty  is  the  best  policy,' 
from  seeing  their  names  in  print,  accompanied  by  a  gratifying 
rennirk  !     How  many  gentlemen  about  to  decline  the  Turf  have 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    I'ORTEE.  145 

been  induced  to  persevere  from  reading  of  brilliant  stakes  and 
high  prices  paid  for  horses  ;  and  how  many  sales  of  stock  have 
been  effected  by  making  breeders  and  turfmen  better  acquainted 
with  each  other  !  Of  our  friends  and  acquaintances,  not  a  'few 
are  indebted  to  us,  possibly  unknowingly,  for  interposing  a 
shield  between  them  and  detraction.  Many  have  we  served,  and 
in  their  time  of  need.  And  how  many  have  we  rendered  prom- 
inent and  popular,  whose  modest,  sterling  worth,  would  otherwise 
have  been  unknown  beyond  their  own  neighborhoods  ?  Others 
there  are  whose  interests  are  watched  over  with  as  keen  an  eye  as 
our  own  ;  and  there  are  many  whom  we  have  disenthralled  from 
deep-rooted  prejudices  and  absurd  misapprehensions  ;  and  many 
whom  we  have  cheered  on  and  supported  in  the  good  cmtse  by  a 
timely  suggestion,  a  favorable  notice,  and  an  appeal  to  their  pride, 
or  by  prudential  advice.  Nor  may  we  altogether  omit  to  mention 
that  we  have  been  in  the  constant  habit  for  years,  of  executing 
commissions  of  all  descriptions  for  our  sporting  subscribers, 
whether  acquaintances  or  not,  without  any  charge  whatever, 
though  frequently  thereby  subjected  to  serious  inconvenience 
and  expense.  The  person  obliged  being  a  subsoeibee,  we  have 
performed  whatever  labor  of  love  was  required  with  the  most 
cheerful  readiness. 

"  Nor  do  our  claims  on  the  Sportsmen  of  the  United  States 
stop  here.  We  claim  to  have  elevated  the  character  of  the  pur- 
suits of  the  Turf  to  a  pitch  they  had  never  before  reached  in 
public  estimation  on  this  side  the  Atlantic.  When  this  journal 
was  commenced,  the  strongest  prejudice  existed,  especially  at  the 
North,  towards  Racing  and  Eacing  men.  This  prejudice  had 
been  lineally  transmitted  from  the  Puritans  of  New  England, 
who,  carrying  to  an  extreme  their  hatred  of  the  civil  and  religious 
principles  of  the  Cavaliers,  involved  in  a  sweeping  and  indiscrimi- 
nate censure  the  excessive  loyalty,  the  haughty  assumption,  and 
the  religious  intolerance  which  distinguished  the  aristocratic 
party,  with  the  gallantry,  the  courtesy,  and  love  of  manly  amuse- 
ments, which  rendered  the  exercise  of  their  power  at  least  grace- 
ful and  elegant.  We  have  cautiously  eschewed  sympathy  with 
such  English  amusements  as  are  deemed  brutal  and  gross  in  cither 
7 


14G  LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEE. 

countrj^,  and  as  sedulously  exhibited  the  fairer  side  of  the  picture, 
recording  the  proceedings  on  the  Turf  and  in  the  Field  of  the 
legitimate  '  Old  English  Sportsmen  ' — a  class  of  gentlemen  com- 
posed of  the  proudest,  most  enlightened,  and  most  refined  of  the 
nobility  and  gentry  of  Great  Britain.  Holding  up  so  constantly 
the  example  of  the  best  blood  of  the  old  country,  we  have  like- 
wise made  the  public  at  large  more  intimately  acquainted  -with 
the  high  character  and  social  position  of  our  Turfmen,  till  the 
prejudice  which  once  universally  here  prevailed  towards  a  '  horse- 
racer,'  has  become  extinct,  save  in  the  breasts  of  those  who 
equally  condemn  the  most  tasteful  and  delightful  recreations  of 
society. 

"  To  effect  our  purpose,  unwearied  pains  have  been  employed 
to  give  the  '  Spirit  of  the  Times  '  some  portion  of  Literary  repu- 
tation, and  we  have  great  satisfaction  in  recording  that  we  have 
upon  our  list  many  subscribers  utterly  indifferent  to  the  sporting 
department  of  the  paper,  but  who  have  taken  it  from  first  to  last 
because  they  have  approved  the  spirit  in  which  we  have  culled 
for  them  from  the  Periodical  Literature  of  England.  And  again, 
we  have  aimed  still  further  to  advance  our  primary  design,  by 
associating  with  Field  Sports  and  Pastimes  the  pleasures  of 
the  Stage.  A  due  share  of  room  has  ever  been  devoted  to 
the  subject,  the  most  disinterested  support  has  been  given  to 
managers  and  actors  worthy  of  support ;  a  complete  record  has 
been  kept  of  the  current  productions  of  tlie  day,  whether  in 
Music,  the  Drama,  or  the  Ballet,  and  we  have  faithfully  chronicled 
the  movements  of  the  '  professionals  '  in  each  art,  their  triumphs, 
and  their  reverses.  This  we  have  done  with  no  expectation  or 
hope  of  emolument  from  this  class — their  patronage,  all  told, 
never  has  repaid  a  tithe  of  the  expense  and  trouble  it  has  cost — 
but  with  the  double  intent  of  making  the  contents  of  the  '  Spirit ' 
more  various,  and  upholding  in  an  accredited  organ  the  pleasures 
of  the  Turf  and  the  Stage,  as  these  pleasures  are  in  fact  found 
associated  in  the  minds  of  all  true  American  Sportsmen. 

"  To  the  Agriculturists  of  the  West,  too,  we  have  endeavored 
to  make  our  journal  acceptable  by  seasonable  extracts  from  the 
Agricultural   writers  of  Great  Bi'itain,  Avhere  the   science   ha- 


LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  147 

reached  nearest  perfection.  Considerable  space  has  been  given 
to  original  and  selected  hints  upon  the  improvement  of  the  Do- 
mestic Stock  of  the  country  ;  and  the  enterprising,  and  in  a 
national  point  of  view,  most  deserving,  importer  and  breeder  of 
Cattle,  and  Sheep,  and  Swine,  has  been  encouraged  and  assisted 
in  the  profitable  disposition  of  his  stock,  by  editorial  comment, 
and  private  individual  exertion. 

"In  fine,  while  we  have  made  ours  most  emphatically  a 
SPORTING  PAPER,  and  as  such,  a  paper  accredited  for  accuracy,  for 
fulness  and  impartiality,  it  has  been  our  constant  aim  to  elevate 
its  character  by  associating  with  this  peculiar  feature  the  charms 
of  Polite  Letters,  and  the  delights  of  Music  and  the  Theatre  ;  to 
elevate  in  popular  estimation  the  true  position  of  our  Turfmen, 
to  commend  their  elegant  hospitality  and  tastes,  their  devotion 
not  alone  to  the  Manly  Diversions  of  the  Field,  but  their  warm 
sympathy  with  the  Arts,  by  which  Social  Life  is  adorned. 

"  Measurably,  we  have  succeeded  in  our  purpose  ;  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Turf  has  been  redeemed  at  the  North,  and  the  standing 
of  its  devotees  made  familiar  among  gentlemen,  not  alone  here, 
but  in  England.  'Tis  but  a  short  time  since  that  in  England  the 
impression  was  universal  that  the  only  American  sport  was  Trot- 
ting—our best  thorough-bred  but  a  three-minute  roadster,  and 
our  proudest  sportsman  but  a  wily  jockey  of  some  '  fast  crab.' 
Those  days  are  gone.  Our  Turfmen  are  now  known  at  '  the 
Corner,'  to  those  best  worth  knowing  ;  our  great  races  are  re- 
ported in  English  newspapers ;  the  merits  of  our  '  cx'acks '  are 
understood,  and  the  pages  of  their  elegant  magazines  are  adorned 
with  portraits  of  Boston  and  Fashion,  and  costly  illustrations  of 
many  capital  articles  contributed  originally  to  these  columns. 
Henceforth  the  United  States  will  be  regarded  as  the  only  nation 
that  can  compete  with  them  in  bringing  to  perfection  the  Blood 
Horse,  and  in  carrying  out  a  thorough  and  business-like  system 
of  Racing,  by  which  alone  all  improvements  must  be  tested. 
Throughout  Great  Britain,  indeed  wherever  the  Englisli  language 
is  spoken,  the  '  Spirit  of  the  Times  '  is  known  as  the  '  Bell's  Life ' 
of  the  New  World— the  organ  of  the  American  Sporting  World. 
Through  this  medium  the  fame  of  our  Horses  and  the  spirit  of 


148  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

our  Turfmen  are  known  nut  only  througliout  Europe,  but  in  the 
Indies,  West  and  East.  The  breeders  of  France  and  Germany, 
the  best  continental  customers  of  England,  are  already  turning 
their  eyes  to  the  United  States,  as  likely  to  become  at  no  distant 
day,  the  '  Race  Horse  Region '  from  whence  their  importations 
are  to  be  made.  Our  system  of  racing — '  long  distances  and  heats 
to  boot ' — is  eminently  popular  out  of  England,  while  even  there 
many  of  the  most  sensible  writers  and  speakers  [vide  Sir  Francis 
Burdett's  Speech  upon  the  sale  of  His  late  Majesty's  Stud]  view  with 
concern  and  regret  the  present  British  system  of  racing,  which 
is  calculated  to  deteriorate  the  old-fashioned,  hard-bottomed  stock 
of  the  English  Race  Horse — to  produce  speed  at  the  expense  of 
game  and  stoutness — to  beget  a  breed  of  quarter  horses  instead 
of  four  milers, — the  King's  Platers  of  a  former  era.  The  '  Spirit,' 
too,  has  made  the  Turfmen  of  Europe  familiar  with  the  names  of 
the  Corinthian  columns  of  the  American  Turf.  Our  Hamptons, 
our  Stevenses,  our  Kennees,  and  our  Stocktons,  are  known 
throughout  the  world  like  the  Portlands,  the  Clevelands,  and 
the  Bentincks  of  England.  The  Livingstons  and  Johnsons  of 
the  New  World  are  as  eminently  conspicuous  as  the  CnESTER- 
FiELDs  and  Geosvenoes  of  the  Old. 

"  We  approach  now  the  last  and  most  miserable  topic  in  this 
long  article.  After  having  thus  devoted  ten  of  the  best  years 
of  our  life,  with  all  the  means,  the  influence,  the  industry,  and 
the  ability  we  could  command,  we  have  realized — what  ?  Why 
on  paper,  quite  a  snug  little  property,  but,  in  truth,  not  the  first 
red  cent !  With  nearly  Fifty  Thousand  Dollars  due  it,  this  jour- 
nal passed  from  ours  into  other  hands,  for  an  amount  which 
would  not  command  a  moderate  race-horse !  What  have  we 
gained,  then,  beyond  the  ephemeral  reputation  of  a  newspaper 
writer  ?  This,  to  be  sure,  is  flattering  enough  to  our  vanity, 
but  will  it  make  the  '  pot  boil '  ?  With  the  same  reputation, 
enterprise,  means,  and  perseverance,  ought  we  not  to  have  in- 
sured 

'  that  which  should  accompany  old  age, 

As  honor,  lovo,  obodience,  troops  of  friends  ? ' 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE.  149 

We  are  not  prepared  to  estimate  the  value  of  editorial  popularity, 
nor  the  worth  of  the  good  opinion  of  the  Sporting  World,  but 
we  are  almost  tempted  to  say  from  present  indications  npon 
icMch  we  shall  sTiortly  dwell,  that  had  we  the  past  ten  years  of 
our  life  to  live  over  again,  and  were  offered  the  wages  of  a  journey- 
man wood-sawyer,  we  should  certainly  hesitate  before  giving  up 
the  '  wages '  for  the  '  popularity  ' — the  saw  horse  for  the  race 
horse. 

"  It  is  true  that  we  have  acquired  a  fund  of  knowledge  and 
great  experience,  hut  that  we  can  ever  make  them  available  is 
yet  to  be  seen.  We  have  won  in  high  places  the  consideration 
of  those  whose  mere  passing  acquaintance  is  a  passport  to  general 
favor.  '  Praise  from  Sir  Hubert  Stanley  is  praise  indeed ! '  and  we 
have  received  it  spontaneously  at  the  hands  of  thousands.  Many, 
very  many  stanch  friends  have  we  made,  and  thousands  of  most 
desirable  acquaintances.  Of  the  former,  several  '  whose  evil  stars 
have  linked  them  with  us,'  have  a  claim  upon  our  never-ceasing 
gratitude  and  regard,  which  is  inscribed  in  our  heart  of  hearts. 
The  consideration  which  most  embitters  our  regret  for  past  mis- 
fortunes, is,  that  we  have  involved  some  of  them  in  our  own 
losses,  and  those  friends  the  most  disinterested  and  generous. 

"  But  we  do  by  no  means  yet  '  give  up  the  ship.'  With  our 
habits  of  application,  experience  in  the  profession  we  have  chosen, 
and  claims  upon  the  good  wishes  of  the  racing  community,  joined 
to  good  health,  economy,  and  the  energy  of  one  determined  to 
succeed,  and  not  too  old  to  grapple  with  the  great  world,  it  will 
be  singular  indeed  if  we  are  not  able  at  no  very  distant  day  to 
stand  upon  our  legs  again,  free  from  obligations  of  every  descrip- 
tion." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

RACE   OF   BOSTON   AND   FASHION,    MAY    lO,    1842. 

The  great  sectional  match  for  $20,000  a  side,  four- 
mile  heats,  between  the  N'orth  and  the  South,  came 
off  on  Tuesday  last,  the  10th  inst.  Since  the  memor- 
able contest  between  Eclipse  and  Hennj^  on  the  27th 
of  May,  1823,  no  race  has  excited  so  much  interest 
and  enthusiasm.  It  attracted  hundreds  of  individuals 
from  the  remotest  sections  of  the  Union,  and  for 
months  has  been  the  theme  of  remark  and  speculation, 
not  only  in  the  sporting  circles  of  this  country,  but  in 
England,  where  the  success  of  the  northern  champion 
was  predicted.  It  was  a  most  thrilling  and  exciting 
race — one  which  throws  in  the  shade  the  most  cele- 
brated of  those  wonderful  achievements  which  have 
conferred  so  much  distinction  upon  the  high-mettled 
racers  of  America ! 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1842,  the  annus 
mirdbilis  of  Turfmen,  came  off  the  great  race  be- 
tween Boston  and  Fashion.  It  was  a  match  between 
the  North  and  the  South.  Col.  William  R.  John- 
son, of  Virginia,  challenged  in  the  newspapers  the 


LIFE   OF   WILLI  Ail   T.    POKTER.  151 

whole  world  to  run  against  his  horse  Boston,  and 
gave  a  special  challenge  to  William  Gibbons,  Esq.,  of 
New  Jersey,  to  run  for  $20,000  a  side.  The  latter 
was  not  in  the  habit  of  betting,  and  gave  the  use  of 
his  mare  Fashion  to  some  of  his  friends,  who  made 
up  the  money  and  accepted  the  challenge.  The  sub- 
joined article  by  Mr.  Porter,  in  regard  to  the  chal- 
lenge and  the  pedigrees  and  performances  of  the  two 
horses,  will  be  a  fit  and  valuable  introduction  to  his 
subsequent  and  spirited  report  of  the  race  itself : 

The  following  letter  containing  the  acceptance 
of  Boston's  challenge  to  Fashion  has  been  communi- 
cated exclusively  to  the  "  Spirit  of  the  Times,"  by  the 
gentleman  who  made  the  match  on  behalf  of  the 
friends  of  Fashion : 

New  York,  November  30, 1841. 

William  R.  Johnsok,  Esq. :  Dear  Sir, — The  challenge  from 
yourself  and  Mr.  James  Long,  to  run  Boston  against  Fashion^ 
Four-mile  heats,  over  the  Union  Course,  L.  I.,  agreeable  to  the 
rules  of  the  Course,  in  Spring  1842,  or  any  day  during  the  month 
of  May,  for  $20,000  a  side,  (New  York  money,)  one-half,  or  one- 
fourth  forfeit,  as  may  be  agreeable  to  the  friends  of  Fashion — is 
accepted  by  me  on  their  behalf.  I  name  the  second  Tuesday  in 
May,  (the  10th,)  1842,  as  the  day  of  the  race ;  and  $5,000  (or 
one-fourth)  as  the  amount  of  forfeit,  which  sum  has  been  placed 
in  the  hands  of  J.  Peescott  Hall,  Esq.,  President  of  the  New 
York  Jockey  Club.  The  same  amount  being  received  by  him 
from  you,  the  whole  forfeit  ($10,000)  will  be  deposited  by  him 
in  one  of  the  city  banks.  Yours  most  respectfully,         T. 

The  acceptance  above  was  mailed  on  Tuesday  last, 
the  30tli  ult.,  being  the  last  day  of  November,  accord- 


152  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM    T,    PORTER. 

ing  to  the  terms  of  the  challenge,  and  the  forfeit  on 
each  side  has  since  been  deposited  in  one  of  the  city 
banks.  As  the  match  will  be  a  general  topic  of  dis- 
cussion during  the  winter  throughout  the  countrj^,  we 
have  thought  the  sporting  world  would  be  obliged  to 
us  for  an  authentic  statement  of  the  several  perform- 
ances of  the  two  horses,  with  a  brief  account  of  their 
characteristics,  etc.  With  this  view  we  have  compiled 
with  the  utmost  care  the  following  brief  memoirs : 

BOSTON'S  PEDIGREE,  CHARACTERISTICS,  AND  PER- 
FORMANCES. 

Boston  was  bred  bj  the  late  John  Wickham,  Esq., 
of  Eichmond,  Ya.,  the  eminent  jurisconsult,  and  was 
foaled  in  Henrico  Countj,  in  1833.  He  was  got  by 
the  celebrated  Timoleon  out  of  Robin  Brown's  dam 
(an  own  sister  to  Tuchahoe,  also  bred  by  Mr.  W.)  by 
Ball's  Florizel,  her  dam  by  Imp.  Alderman,  out  of  a 
mare  by  Imp.  Clochfast — her  grandam  by  Sj^mmes' 
Wildair,  etc.  [For  a  detailed  memoir,  and  a  portrait 
of  Boston,  see  the  "  Spirit  of  the  Times,"  of  March 
7th,  1840.]  Boston  was  sold  by  Mr.  Wickham,  in 
his  two-year-old  form  to  Mr,  JN'athaniel  Eives,  of 
Eichmond,  Ya.,  for  $800,  and  was  trained  in  1836-7 
by  Capt.  John  Belcher,  who  had  charge  of  one 
"  cavalry  corj^s "  from  Col.  Johnson's  stable,  while 
Arthur  Taylor  had  another.  Cornelius,  a  colored  lad, 
was  Bostori's  jockey  up  to  27th  April,  1839.  Ever 
since  the  spring  campaign  of  1838,  Boston  has  been 
trained  by  Arthur  Taylor  and  ridden  by  Gil  Patrick, 
until  this  spring  when  Craig  took  Gil's  place,  the 


LIFE    OF    WILLIAil   T.    PORTER  153 

latter  having  gone  to  Kentucky  to  ride  several  im- 
portant races,  all  of  which  he  won.  In  May,  1839, 
after  the  first  heat  of  his  race  against  Decatur  and 
Vashti,  Boston  was  sold  to  Mr.  James  Long,  of 
Washington  City,  for  $12,000  and  half  of  the  purse, 
and  he  is  still  owned  by  Mr.  L.  and  Col.  Wm,  R. 
Johnson,  of  Petersburg,  Va. 

Boston  is  a  chestnut,  with  white  stockings  on  both 
hind  feet,  and  a  white  stripe  down  the  face.  In  other 
respects  than  color  and  marks,  Boston  closely  re- 
sembles the  British  phenomenon,  Ilarlzaioay .  They 
have  alike  prodigious  depth  of  chest,  and  immensely 
powerful  loins,  thighs,  and  hocks.  Boston  is  a  trifle 
only  above  15i  hands  high,  under  the  standard,  but 
to  the  eye  seems  taller,  owing  to  his  immense  sub- 
stance; he  is  a  short-limbed  horse,  with  a  barrel 
rather  flat,  or  "slab-sided"  than  round,  and  well- 
ribbed  home,  while  his  back  is  a  prodigy  of  strength  ; 
ten  pounds  extra  weight  would  hardly  "  set  him  back 
any."  Though  he  has  occasionally  sulked,  Boston 
runs  on  his  courage,  and  is  never  ridden  with  spurs. 
He  is  no  beauty,  his  neck  and  head  being  unsightly, 
while  his  hips  are  ragged,  rendering  him  "  a  rum  'un 
to  look  at ;"  that  he  is  "  a  good  'un  to  go,"  however, 
we  imagine  will  be  generally  conceded  after  reading 
the  annexed  recapitulation  of 

HIS  PERFORMANCES. 

1836. 

April  20,  Broad  Rock,  Va..  .Sweepstakes..  .Mile  heats lost  % 

Boston  S  years  old,  bolted  in  the  1st  heat,  when  running  ahead. 


154  LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    POKTER. 

Oct.  12,  Petersburg,  Va Purse 2  mile  heats,  .won      $300 

Beating  N.  Biddle,  Mary  Archie,  Juliana,  John  Floyd,  and  ch.  f. 
by  Henry. 

Nov.  8,  Hanover  C.  H.,  Va.  .Purse 3  mile  beats,  .won         400 

Beating  Betsey  Mlnge,  Upton  Heath,  Nick  Biddle,  Alp.  Bayard, 
and  a  Gohauna  filly. 

1837. 

May  4,  Washington  City. . .  .Purse 3  mile  heats,  .won         500 

Beating  Norwood,  Mary  Selden,  Meteor,  Lydia,  bro.  to  Virginia 
Graves. 

Oct.  5,  Washington  City Purse 3  mile  heats,  .won         500 

Beating  Prince  George,  Stockton,  Mary  Selden,  Virginia  Graves, 
Caroline  Snowden,  and  Leesburg,  in  5.50 — 5.52. 

Oct.  19,  Baltimore,  Md Purse 3  mile  heats,  .won         500 

Beating  Camsidel,  Cippus,  and  Ked  Kat,  in  5.51— 6.0S. 
Oct.  25,  Camden,  N.  J Purse 3  mile  heats,  .wou         500 

Beating  Betsey  Andrew  and  Tipton,  in  5.51—6.02. 

1838. 

May  3,  Union  Course,  L.  I.  .Purse 3  mile  heats,  .won        500 

Boston,  now  5  years  old,  walked  over. 
May  18,  Beacon  Course,  N.  J. Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won      1,000 

Beating  Dosoris,  without  extending  himself. 
May  25,  Camden,  N.  J Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won      1,000 

Beating  Decatur,  who  had  just  distanced  Fanny  Wyatt,  in  a 
match  for  $10,000,  in  7.46,  at  Washington. 
June  1,  Union  Course,  L.  I.  .Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won     1,000 

Beating  Charles  Carter,  who  broke  down,  in  7.40— the  first  three 
miles  run  in  5:36i ! ! ! 
June  8,  Beacon  Course,  N.  J. Purse. 4  mile  heats,  .won     1,000 

Beating  Duane,  who  won  the  1st  heat  in  7.52—7.54—8.30.    B. 
Sulked. 
Oct.  4,  Petersburg,  Va Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won        VOO 

Beating  Polly  Green  in  a  canter. 
Oct.  13,  Baltimore,  Md Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won         VOO 

Beating  Balie  Peyton,  who  had  won  a  heat  from  Duane  in  7.42. 
Oct.  19,  Baltimore,  Md Purse 4  mile  heats,  .rcc.  600 

Boston  was  paid  $500  out  of  the  purso  not  to  start. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK,  155 

Oct.  27,  Camden,  N.  J Purse 4  mile  heats,  .rcc.       $500 

Boston  was  paid  $500  out  of  the  purse  not  to  start. 
Nov.  2,  Uuion  Course,  L.  I.  .Purse 4  mile  beats,  .won      1,000 

Beating  Decatur  with  ease  in  8.00— 7.57^. 
Nov.  9,  Beacon  Course,  N.  J. Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won      1,000 

Beating;  Decatur.    This  year  B.  won  nine  Jockey  Club  Purses, 
and  received  $1,000  more  for  not  starting. 

1839. 

April  16,  Petersburg,  Va Match 2  mile  heats.  .lost 

Beaten  by  Portsmouth  in  3.50—3.48,  B.  being  oflf  his  foot. 
April  27,  Broad  Rock,  Va..  .Purse 3  mile  heats,  .won         500 

Beating  Lady  Clifden  and  Brocklesby  in  5.46  with  ease— the 
best  time  ever  made  on  this  course. 

May  9,  Washington  City. . .  .Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won         800 

Beating  Tom  "WaUcer,  Black  Knight,  Keliance,  and  Sam  Brown, 
7.53-8.06. 

May  24,  Camden,  N.  J Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won     1,000 

Boston,  now  six  years,  walked  over,  though  several  "  cracks  " 
were  on  the  ground. 

May  31,  Trenton,  N.  J Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won     1,000 

Beating  Decatur  and  Vashti  with  ease.    V.  had  just  won  a  2d 
heat  in  7.46. 

June  7,  Union  Course,  L.  I.  .Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won     1,000 

Beating  Decatur  and  Balie  Peyton  cleverly  in  7.47—8.02. 
Sept.  26,  Petersburg,  Va P.  and  Stake.  .4  mile  heats,  .won     7,000 

Beating  the  Queen  and  Omega  in  8.02— 7.52— best  time  made  on 
the  course,  to  this  date. 
Oct.  17,  Camden,  N.  J P.  and  Stake.  .4  mile  heats,  .won     7,000 

Beating  Omega  in  7.49.  0.  had  won  a  heat  at  Washington  in  7.40 1 
Oct.  23,  Trenton,  N.  J. Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won     1,000 

Beating  Decatur  and  Master  Henry  in  7.57—7.56. 


1840. 

May  1,  Petersburg,  Va Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won        700 

Beating  Andrewetta,  who  won  the  1st  heat  in  7.50— 8.04— the 
best  time  ever  made  on  the  course. 

May  8,  Washington  City. . .  .Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won      1,000 

Beating  Keliance  and  Cippus  without  a  struggle. 


156  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER. 

Oct.  2,  Petersburg,  Va Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won       $700 

Beating  Brandt,  who  was  drawn  after  1st  heat  in  7.57. 
Oct.  8,  Broad  Rock,  Va Purse 3  mile  heats,  .won         500 

Beating  Texas,  Balie  Peyton,  and  Laneville  in  5.56 — 5.49. 
Dec.  V,  Augusta,  Ga Match 4  mile  beats,  .won   10,000 

Beating  Gano  in  a  gallop  in  7.57,  after  which  G.  was  drawn. 
Dec.  17,  Augusta,  Ga Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won        800 

Beating  Santa  Anna  and  Omega  in  7:52 — 7:49. 

1841. 

In  the  Spring,  Boston  stood  at  Chesterfield,  Va.,  and  cover- 
ed 42  mares  at  $100  each. 

Sept.  30,  Petersburg,  Va Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won        700 

Beating  Texas  without  an  effort. 
Oct.  8,  Alexandria,  D.  C. . .  .Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won         800 

Boston  walked  over,  though  several  cracks  were  present. 
Oct.  15,  Washington  City. .  .Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won         800 

Beating  Accident,  Ned  Hazard,  and  Greenhill  with  ease. 
Oct.  21,  Baltimore,  Md Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won         COO 

Beating  Mariner,  who  won  the  1st  heat  in  S.OOi — 8.05—8.10— 
course  very  heavy. 

Oct.  28,  Camden,  N.  J Purse 4  mile  heats,  .lost 

Distanced  by  John  Blount  and  Fashion  in  7.42 — Blount  broke 
down  in  2d  heat,  which  was  won  by  Fashion,  in  7.48.  Bos- 
ton dead  amiss,  and  unable  to  run  a  mile  under  2:10. 

Starting  thirty-eight  times,  and  winning  thirty-five  races — 
twenty-six  of  them  at  four  mile  heats,  and  seven  at 
three  mile  heats — winning $49,500 

Add  for  his  earnings  in  the  breeding  stud.  Spring  of  1841,  4,200 

Boston's  winnings  and  earnings  amount  to  the  enormous 

sum  of S53,700 

It  is  due  to  Boston  to  state  that  in  liis  four-year- 
old  form  he  was  prevented  from  starting  for  the  large 
purses  offered  for  four  mile  heats,  by  being  in  the 
same  stable  with  Atalanta^  Lady  Cllfden^  Argyle^ 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETER.  157 

and  Manj  Blunt.  And  it  is  no  less  due  to  him  than 
to  his  liberal  and  high-spirited  owners  to  add  that 
from  a  regard  to  the  best  interests  of  the  Turf,  they 
have  frequently  allowed  him  to  remain  in  his  stable, 
when  by  starting  him  they  could  have  taken  the 
pm'ses  without  an  effort.  Boston,  after  his  match 
with  Gano,  at  Augusta,  could  have  won  a  Jockey 
Club  purse  there,  and  at  Savannah  and  Charleston. 
In  the  spring  of  1840,  he  started  but  twice,  though  he 
could  have  easily  won  every  four-mile  purse  given 
between  Petersburg  and  Long  Island.  His  owners, 
in  the  latter  instance,  were  personally  appealed  to 
and  consented  to  send  him  home  from  Washington, 
while  one  of  the  Northern  proprietors  proposed  to 
exclude  him  from  running.  Several  other  occasions 
might  be  named  on  which  Boston  has  been  withdrawn 
from  the  contest,  at  the  request  of  the  proprietors  of 
courses,  upon  a  representation  that  his  entrance  would 
destroy  the  sport  and  disappoint  the  public. 

Boston,  now  at  the  advanced  age  of  eight  years, 
after  a  racing  career  of  unparalleled  severity,  is  still 
as  sound  as  a  dollar,  with  legs  as  free  from  blemish  as  a 
three-year  old.  The  field  of  his  brilliant,  never-fad- 
ing victories  extends  from  New  York  to  Georgia,  and 
he  has  not  only  beaten,  one  after  another,  every  horse 
within  his  reach,  but  he  has  challenged  all  others, 
offering  to  meet  them  on  their  own  ground.  Na- 
poleon found  a  "Waterloo  and  so  has  Boston,  but  the 
latter  is  beaten,  not  defeated ;  like  the  former  it  will 
be  found  that  "  he  is  never  more  to  be  feared  than  in 
his  reverses."    When  dead  amiss  he  was  beaten,  it 


158  LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TORTER. 

is  true ;  the  race  was  a  splendid  one — one  of  tlie  best 
ever  run  in  America — but  Boston  had  no  part  in  it ; 
he  could  not  have  beaten  a  cocktail  on  that  occasion, 
and  instead  of  being  backed  as  usual  at  "  1,000  to 
300,  nineteen  times  over,"  his  owners  did  not  lay  out 
a  dollar  on  him  !  Since  he  was  taken  up  this  fall  his 
owners  determined  to  give  him  a  trial  to  see  whether 
his  speed  or  game  had  been  affected  by  his  services 
in  the  breeding  stud.  An  eye-witness  of  this  trial, 
who  went  over  two  hundred  miles  to  see  it,  has  assur- 
ed us  that  it  was  not  only  the  best  trial  Boston  ever 
made,  but  it  was  the  best  trial  ever  made  over  a 
course  which  has  been  trained  on  for  half  a  century ! 
Since  that  event  Boston  has  offered  to  run  four-mile 
heats  '■'■against  any  two  horses  in  the  wm^ld^''  for 
$45,000,  which  was  not  accepted,  and  since  his  de- 
feat at  Camden,  by  Fashion^  he  has  challenged  her 
to  run  him  next  spring  for  $20,000.  The  winner  of 
this  match  will  richly  merit  and  most  assuredly  re- 
ceive the  proud  title  of  Champion  of  the  American 
Turf  ;  let  us  hope,  therefore,  that  each  will  come  to 
the  post  in  tip-top  condition,  and  we  may  confidently 
anticipate  witnessing  the  best  race,  without  exception, 
ever  run  in  America. 


FASHION'S  PEDIGREE,  CHARACTERISTICS,  AND  PER- 
FORMANCES. 

Fashion  was  bred  by  William  Gibbons,  Esq.,  of 
Madison,  Morris  County,  N.  J.,  where  she  was  foaled 
on  the  26th  April,  1837.     It  would  be  difficult  to  sit 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEE.  159 

down  over  the  stud  book  and  compile  a  richer  pedi- 
gree than  her's,  and  the  same  remark  will  apply  to 
Boston.  Each  is  descended  from  the  most  eminently 
distinguished  racing  families  on  the  side  of  both  sire 
and  dam,  that  have  figured  on  the  Turf  for  a  hundred 
years.  FasJdon  was  got  by  Mr.  Livingston's  imp. 
Trustee^  out  of  the  celebrated  Bonnets-o'-Blue  by  Sir 
Charles,  and  she  out  of  Reality — "  the  very  best  race 
horse,"  says  Col.  Johnson,  "  I  ever  saw."  Reality 
was  got  by  Sir  Arcliy,  and  her  pedigree  extends 
back  through  the  imported  horses  Medley,  Centinel, 
Janus,  Monkey,  Silver- Eye,  and  Spanher,  to  an  im- 
ported Spanish  mare.  Trustee,  the  sire  of  Fashion, 
was  a  distinguished  race-horse  in  England,  and  sold 
at  three  years  old  for  2,000  guineas,  to  the  Duke  of 
Cleveland,  after  running  3d  in  the  race  for  the  Derby 
of  101  subscribers.  He  was  subsequently  imported 
by  Messrs.  Ogden,  Corbin,  and  Stockton.  Trustee 
was  foaled  in  1829,  and  was  got  by  Catton  out  of  Em- 
ma by  Whisker,  and  combines  the  blood  of  Hermes, 
Pipator,  and  Sir  Peter,  on  his  dam's  side,  with  that 
of  Penelope  by  Trumpator,  and  Prunella  by  High- 
flyer, on  the  side  of  his  sire.  Trustee  is  not  a  chance 
horse  ;  in  addition  to  other  winners  of  his  family,  in 
1835,  his  own  brother,  Mundig,  won  the  Derby  of 
128  subscribers. 

Fashion  is  a  rich,  satin-coated  chestnut,  with  a 
star,  and  a  ring  of  white  above  the  coronet  of  her  left 
hind  foot ;  on  her  right  quarter  she  is  marked 
with  three  dark  spots,  like  Plenipo,  and  other  "  ter- 
ribly high-bred  cattle."     She  is  about  15^  hands  high 


160  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK. 

under  the  standard,  rising  high  on  the  withers,  with  a 
light  head  and  neck,  faultless  legs,  an  oblique,  well- 
shaped  shoulder,  and  a  roomy,  deep,  and  capacious 
chest.  She  has  good  length  of  barrel,  which  is  well 
ribbed  out,  and  her  loins  are  well  arched  and  sup- 
ported by  strong  fillets.  Though  finely  put  up  fore- 
handed, her  great  excellence  consists  in  the  muscular 
developments  of  her  quarters,  thighs,  and  gaskins. 
As  in  the  greyhound  and  the  hare,  the  seat  of  the 
propelling  power  in  the  horse,  which  enables  him  to 
move  with  a  great  degree  of  velocity,  is  centred  in  his 
hind-quarters  ;  necessarily  in  proportion  to  their 
strength  there,  will  be  the  impulse  which  impels  the 
whole  mass  forward. 

Fashion  has  been  trained  for  all  her  engagements 
by  Mr.  Samuel  Laird,  of  Colt's  Neck,  K  J.,  and 
ridden  by  his  son  Joseph,  the  best  jockey  at  the  north. 
Mr.  Gibbons,  her  owner,  having  been  unfortunate 
with  his  former  trainer  (who  nearly  ruined  Mariner 
in  breaking  him),  and  who  is  opposed  to  the  general 
plan  of  training  colts  at  two  years  old,  resolved  that 
Fashion  should  not  be  taken  up  until  her  form  had 
attained  a  greater  degree  of  maturity  ;  consequently 
she  was  not  brought  out  until  the  fall  of  her  three- 
year-old  year.  Fashion  goes  with  a  long  rating 
stroke,  gathers  well,  and  moves  with  the  utmost  ease 
to  herself;  what  is  rather  singular,  she  runs  with  a 
loose  rein  ;  she  is  true  as  steel,  has  a  remarkable  turn 
of  speed,  can  be  placed  anywhere,  and  nothing  can 
be  finer  than  her  disposition ;  a  more  bloodlike, 
honest  mare  was  never  brought  to  the  post.     Being 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    POETER.  161 

in  a  public  training  stable,  with  Clarion  and  Mariner^ 
her  half  brother,  both  of  them  winners  at  three  and 
four-mile  heats.  Fashion  has  been  compelled  to  "  take 
her  turn  "  in  running  for  "  the  big  things,"  else  the 
amount  of  her  winnings  might  have  been  increased 
as  well  as  the  number  of 

HER  PERFORMANCES. 

1840. 

Oct.  21,  Camden,  N.  J Sweepstake..  .2  mile  heats,  .won       $800 

Beating  Amelia  Priestman  in  the  mud  ;  two  paid  forfeit. 
Oct.  2Y,  Trenton,  N.  J Sweepstake.  ..2  mile  heats,  .won       1,100 

Beating  Fleetwood  and  Nannie  ;  two  paid  forfeit. 

1841. 

May  5,  Union  Course,  L.  I.  .Purse 3  mile  heats,  .won        500 

Beating  Sylphide,  Prospect,  Fleetfoot,  and  Meridian. 

May  19,  Camden,  K  J Purse 2  mile  heats,  .lost 

Beaten  by  Tyler,  after  winning  2d  heat.  Trenton  won  the  1st, 
and  Tyler  the  3d  and  4th.  Fashion  second  In  4th  heat,  Tele- 
machus  being  ruled  out— time,  4.06—3.52—3.51^—3.56. 

Oct.  7,  Union  Course,  L.  L.  .Purse 2  mile  heats,  .won         200 

Beating  Trenton  in  3.51—3.461,  on  a  heavy  course. 

Oct.  20,  Baltimore,  Md Purse 3  mile  heats,  .won         400 

Beating  John  Blount,  Lady  Canton,  and  Stockton  ;  course  slip- 
pery. 

Oct.  28,  Camden,  N.  J Purse 4  mile  heats,  .won         800 

Beating  John  Blount,  who  broke  down  in  2d  heat,  after  winning 
the  1st  and  distancing  Boston  in  1st  heat ;  time,  7.42—7.48. 

Starting,  in  three  trainings,  seven  times,  and  winning  six 
races,  one  at  four,  and  two  at  three-mile  heats, 
winning ; $3,800 

We  have  noticed  the  fact  of  her  not  having  been 
trained  in  the  spring  of  her  three-year-old  year  ;  last 


162  LIFE  OF  willia:^!  t.  pokter. 

spring,  too,  unfortunately,  after  her  race  at  Camden 
she  went  amiss  and  was  prudently  turned  out  until 
the  fall,  when  she  came  out  again  and  won  not  only 
at  two  and  at  three-mile  heats,  but  at  four.  Her  last 
race  is  one  of  the  best,  at  four-mile  heats,  ever  run  in 
the  United  States.  In  the  only  race  she  ever  lost  it 
will  be  seen  that  she  was  beaten  by  Tyler  after  win- 
ning the  2d  heat ;  Tyler  won  the  3d  and  4th  heats, 
in  the  last  of  which  she  was  2d,  having  beaten  Tren- 
ton (who  won  the  1st  heat)  and  Telemachus.  From 
the  fact  of  being  turned  out  after  this  race  and  of  her 
having  since  twice  beaten  John  Blount,  who  easily 
defeated  Tyler  in  a  match  for  $5,000,  it  is  fair  to  con- 
clude that  on  the  occasion  alluded  to  she  was  out  of 
condition.  The  brilliant  reputation  she  acquired  by 
her  last  great  performance,  added  to  the  confident 
impression  everywhere  entertained  of  her  surpassing 
speed  and  extraordinary  powers  of  endurance,  are 
such,  however,  as  to  render  quite  gratuitous  any  ex- 
planation as  to  the  cause  of  her  having  once  been 
defeated. 

As  FasJiion''s  friends  have  accepted  the  match 
offered  by  Boston,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  each  will 
come  to  the  post  in  condition  to  run  for  a  man's  life. 
Fashion  will  be  trained  as  usual  by  Mr.  Laird,  and 
Boston  by  Arthur  Taylor  ;  Joe,  no  doubt,  will  throw 
his  leg  across  the  pig  skin  on  the  marc,  Avhile  Gil 
Patrick,  who  has  more  strength,  though  not  more 
science  or  coolness  than  Craig,  will  probabl}'-  be  put 
up  again  on  Boston.  The  latter  being  an  aged  horse 
(9  years  old)  will  have  to  carry  120  lbs.,  while  the 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  163 

mare's  appropriate  weight  being  then  5  years  old, 
will  be  111  lbs.  No  match,  the  South  against  the 
North,  has  been  made  np  at  all  comparable  with  this 
in  interest,  since  that  between  Eclipse  and  Henry^ 
which  came  off  over  the  Union  Course  on  the  27th  of 
May,  1823.  Each  champion  has,  and  is  worthy  of 
troops  of  confident  friends,  and  each  is  in  good  hands. 
Let  them  come  together  in  good  condition — give  them 
a  fair  field  and  no  favor,  and — who  can  name  the 
winner  ? 

At  an  early  hour  on  Tuesday  morning  our  streets 
were  filled  with  carriages  of  all  descriptions,  wending 
their  way  to  the  ferries,  while  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands crossed  over  to  the  cars  of  the  Long  Island  Rail- 
road Company.  But  after  eleven  o'clock  the  Company 
fomid  it  impossible  to  convey  to  the  course  the  im- 
mense crowd  which  filled  and  surrounded  the  cars. 
*  -jf  *  *  ^  * 

The  race  commenced  about  two  o'clock.  For 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  front  of  the  stands, 
the  spectators  ranged  on  the  side  of  the  course  and  of 
the  field,  presented  one  dense  mass  of  thousands, 
through  which  the  horses  run  the  gauntlet.  The 
course  itself,  owing  to  the  rain  of  Sunday  night,  was 
not  deemed  quite  so  well  adapted  for  speed  as  upon 
some  other  occasions  ;  still  it  was  in  fine  order.  Tlie 
prospect  of  the  weather,  in  the  morning,  was  unfavor- 
able, but  though  at  ten  o'clock  there  was  a  slight  sprink- 
ling of  rain,  it  soon  cleared  off.  The  day  was  w\arm 
and  pleasant,  but  with  scarce  a  glimpse  of  the  sun. 


164  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEE. 

The  betting  was  a  shade  in  Boston's  favor.  Before 
the  race  came  off,  however,  his  friends  were  obliged, 
in  order  to  get  on  their  money,  to  lay  100  to  GO,  and 
in  some  cases  2  to  1.  We  never  saw  so  little  money 
bet  on  a  race  here  of  any  importance  ;  of  heavy  bet- 
ting we  did  not  hear  of  a  solitary  transaction,  though 
tlie  backers  of  each  were  sanguine. 

Having  previously  given  in  the  preceding  pages 
complete  memou-s  of  the  rival  champions,  with  their 
pedigrees,  characteristics,  and  performances,  in  detail, 
we  have  only  to  speak  of  their  fine  condition.  Both 
stripped  well.  Boston  was  drawn  unusually  to  our 
eye,  but  his  coat  looked  and  felt  like  satin.  Fashion's 
curb,  though  quite  prominent,  did  not  seem  to  affect 
her  a  jot ;  otherwise  she  was  in  condition  to  run  for 
a  man's  life.  We  need  hardly  say  that  she  was  admi- 
rably trained  by  Mr.  Laird,  nor  that  she  was  splendidly 
jockeyed  by  his  son  Joseph — a  chip  of  the  old  block — 
Mr.  Laird  having  formerly  been  a  conspicuous  jockey. 
Boston,  of  course,  was  managed  by  Col.  Johnson,  and 
ridden  by  Gil  Patrick,  in  his  usual  superb  style ; 
Arthur  Taylor  brought  him  to  the  post  in  unusually 
fine  order.  Gil  Patrick  rode  the  first  heat  without 
a  spur.  The  jockeys  having  received  their  orders, 
mounted,  and  had  their  girths  taken  up  another  hole, 
brought  their  horses  up  in  fine  style  without  any 
assistance  whatever  from  their  trainers,  and  were  off 
with  a  running  start  for  the  race. 

First  Heat. — Boston  on  the  inside  went  aAvay  with 
the  lead  at  a  rattling  pace,  the  mare  laying  up  within 
two  lengths  of  him  down  the  straight  run  on  the  back 


LITE    OF   WILLIAM   T.    TOKTEK.  165 

stretcli ;  the  half  mile  was  run  in  55  seconds.  The 
same  position  was  maintained  to  the  end  of  the  mile, 
(run  in  1.53,)  but  soon  after  Fashion  made  play  and 
the  pace  improved.  Both  made  strong  running  down 
the  back-stretch  over  the  hill  (opposite  the  half-mile 
post)  and  down  the  slight  descent  which  succeeds,  and 
though  this  seemed  favorable  ground  for  Boston,  the 
mare  gained  on  him,  at  this  place,  in  this  mile,  and 
placed  herself  well  up.  Boston  threw  her  off  on  the 
turn,  and  led  through  clear,  running  this  mile  in  1.50^. 
The  pace  seemed  too  good  to  last,  and  Boston's  friends, 
as  he  led  closely  down  the  back-stretch,  were  "  snatch- 
ing and  eager  "  to  take  any  thing  offered.  Again 
Boston  led  through,  this  mile— (the  3d)  being  run  in 
1.54,  Fashion  keeping  him  up  to  the  top  of  his  rate. 
Tlie  contest  was  beautiful  and  exciting  beyond  descrip- 
tion ;  there  was  no  clambering,  no  faltering,  no  dwell- 
ing on  the  part  of  either ;  each  ran  with  a  long 
rating  stroke,  and  a  pace  that  kills.  Soon  after  com- 
mencing the  4th  mile  Joe  Laird  shook  his  whip  over 
her  head  and  gave  Fashion  an  eye-opener  or  two, 
with  the  spur,  and  not  100  yards  from  the  ground 
where  Boston  took  the  track  from  Charles  Carter,  she 
collared  and  passed  Mm  in  half  a  dozen  strokes  at  a 
flight  of  speed  we  never  saw  equalled,  except  in  the 
desperate  brush  at  the  stand  between  Grey  Medoc  and 
Altorf,  in  their  dead  heat !  When  Fashion  responded 
to  the  call  upon  her,  and  took  the  track  in  such 
splendid  styk,  the  cheers  sent  up  from  the  "  rude 
throats  "  of  thousands  might  have  been  heard  f&r 
miles !     Fashion  made  her   challenge   after  getting 


1G6  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM  T.    PORTEE. 

through  the  drawgate  and  took  the  lead  opposite  the 
quarter  mile  post.  Boston,  however,  like  a  trump,  as 
he  is,  did  not  give  back  an  inch,  and  though  it  was 
manifest  the  Northern  Phenomenon  had  the  foot  of 
him,  he  gave  her  no  respite.  He  lapped  her  down 
the  back-stretch  for  300  yards,  when  Gil  Patrick  very 
sensibly  took  a  strong  bracing  pull  on  him,  and  bottled 
him  up  for  a  desperate  brush  up  the  hill,  where  Eclipse 
passed  Henry.  Here  Gil  again  let  him  out,  but  unfor- 
tunately he  pulled  him  inside  so  near  the  fence  tliat 
Boston  struck  his  hip  against  a  post,  and  hitting  a 
sharp  knot  or  a  nail  cut  through  the  skin  on  his  quar- 
ter for  seven  or  eight  inches  !  He  struck  hard  enough 
to  jar  himself  very  much,  and  we  observed  him  to 
falter ;  but  he  soon  recovered,  and  though  at  this 
moment  Fashion  led  him  nearly  three  lengths,  he 
gradually  closed  the  gap  round  the  turn  to  within  a 
few  feet.  At  this  moment  the  excited  multitude 
broke  through  all  restraint  in  their  anxiety  to  witness 
the  termination  of  the  heat,  and  the  course  was  nearly 
blocked  up  !  On  coming  out  through  a  narrow  gaunt- 
let of  thousands  of  spectators  excited  to  the  highest 
pitch,  both  horses  very  naturally  faltered  at  the  tre- 
mendous shouts,  which  made  the  welkin  ring.  Up 
the  quarter  stretch  Gil  made  another  desperate  efibrt 
to  win  the  race  out  of  the  fire.  He  applied  his  thong 
freely,  while  Joe  Laird  drew  his  whip  on  the  mare 
more  than  once,  and  tapped  her  claret  at  the  same 
time.  Inside  of  the  gate  it  was  a  "  hollow  thing  " 
though  Boston  nearly  closed  the  gap  at  the  distance 
stand.     Gil  fairly  caught   Joe  by  surprise,  but   the 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE.  1G7 

latter,  sliaking  his  wliip  over  lier  head,  gave  Fashion 
the  sj)ur,  and  she  instantly  recovered  her  stride,  coming 
through  about  a  length  ahead  with  apparently  some- 
thing in  hand  to  spare,  closing  the  heat  in  Y.32^ — the 
fastest,  by  all  odds,  ever  run  in  America.  The  time 
was  kept  on  the  Jockey  Club  stand  by  Messrs,  Kobert 
L.  and  James  Stevens,  and  in  the  Judges'  stand  by 
Senator  Barrow  of  Louisiana,  Hon,  Mr.  Botts  of  Vir- 
ginia, J.  Hamilton  Wilkes,  Esq.,  and  the  official 
Timers.  We  took  the  time  of  each  mile  from  the 
Messrs.  S.,  between  whom  we  stood.  Mr.  Neill, 
Major  Ringgold,  and  other  gentlemen  of  acknowledged 
accuracy  as  timers,  stood  in  the  same  circle,  and  there 
was  but  a  fraction  of  difference  in  the  time  each  de- 
clared "  by  watches,  too,  not  made  in  Kentucky !  " 
Messrs.  S.  made  the  time  7.33,  but  as  they  kept  the 
time  of  the  half,  and  in  some  cases  of  the  quarter 
miles,  their  difference  of  that  half  a  second  from  the 
Timers  in  the  Judges'  stand  demonstrates  the  remark- 
able accuracy  of  the  parties. 

The  result  of  the  heat  was  the  more  astonishing 
to  a  few  of  Boston's  friends  as  no  one  ever  supposed 
Fashion  could  make  this  time,  though  she  might  heat 
him.  AVe  were  prepared  to  expect  the  best  time  on 
record,  not  only  from  the  fact  that  we  had  been  in- 
formed of  the  res  alt  of  Fashion's  jor^'m^e  tibial  on  the 
25th  ult.,  but  from  a  circumstance  which  we  shall  be 
excused,  we  trust,  for  alluding  to  here.  After  retiring 
to  our  room  at  the  Astor  House  on  Monday  night,  at 
a  late  hour,  we  had  the  pleasure  of  a  "  domiciliary 
visit "   from   Mr. 


168  LIFE   OF   WILLIA3I   T.    POETER. 

several  mutual  friends.  The  "  party  "  were  attired  in 
costumes  that  would  be  esteemed  somewhat  unique 
out  of  the  circle  of  the  Marquis  of  Waterford's  friends, 
who  ride  steeple  chases  in  their  shirts  and  drawers ! 
Nevertheless,  there  was  no  lack  of  fun  or  spirit :  in 
the  course  of  an  interesting  "  horse  talk,"  Mr.  Long 
gave  us  several  "  items,"  one  of  which  was,  that  Bos- 
ton would  run  the  first  heat,  "  sure,"  in  T.34  !  Said 
Mr.  Long,  "  He  will  run  the  first  mile  in  about  1.53  ; 
the  second  in  1.52 ;  the  third  in  1.54  ;  and  the  fourth 
in  1.55." 

After  he  retired  we  made  a  memorandum  of  the 
time,  as  a  curiosity  after  the  race.  And  we  refer  to 
it  now,  to  show  that  though  beaten  by  the  Northern 
Phenomenon,  the  gallant  Boston  amply  sustained  all 
the  expectations  formed  of  him  from  his  trials  and 
previous  performances.  He  not  only  made  vastly 
better  time  than  he  ever  did  before,  but  better  time 
than  ever  had  been  made^time  that  quite  eclipses 
the  most  wonderful  achievements  on  the  American 
Turf!  The  vaunted  performances  of  the  Southern 
"  cracks  "  at  New  Orleans  are  almost  thrown  in  the 
shade,  wonderful  as  they  are  !  Had  any  one  offered 
to  beat  the  time  of  Eclipse  and  Henry  on  the  Union 
Course,  three  to  one  would  have  been  laid  against  it ; 
or  had  the  friends  of  Boston  been  assured  that  he  could 
run,  as  Mr.  Long  told  us  he  could,  in  7.34,  his  friends 
would  have  staked  a  million  of  dollars  upon  his  win- 
ning the  match  !  For  the  first  two  miles,  Boston,  in 
the  opinion  of  many  shrewd  judges,  had  tlie  foot  of 
the  mare,  and  it  is  thought  that  luid  he  trailed  her  as 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  169 

he  did  Charles  Carter,  the  result  of  the  iirst  heat  might 
have  been  different.  But  what  shall  be  said  of  the 
incomparable  daughter  of  Trustee  and  Bonnets 
o'  Blue.  Too  much  cannot  be  said  of  her,  or  of  her 
jockey.  She  ran  as  true  as  steel,  as  game  and  hon- 
est a  race  as  was  ever  recorded  of  a  high-mettled 
racer ! 

Both  horses  cooled  out  well.  Boston  always 
blows  tremendously,  even  after  a  gallop  ;  but  he 
seemed  little  distressed.  Neither  was  Fashion  ;  her 
action  is  superb,  and  as  she  came  through  on  the 
fourth  mile,  it  was  remarked  that  she  was  playing  her 
ears  as  if  taking  her  exercise.  She  recovered  sooner 
than  Boston,  and  though  her  friends  now  offered  large 
odds  on  her,  Boston's  were  no  less  confident ;  the 
seventh  mile  they  thought  would  "  fetch  her."  We 
should  not  have  been  surprised  to  have  seen  both 
swell  over  the  loins,  nor  to  have  found  them  greatly 
distressed.  We  examined  them  carefully  after  the 
heat,  and  state  with  great  pleasure,  that  though  they 
"  blowed  strong,"  they  recovered  in  a  few  minutes, 
and  came  to  the  post  again  comparatively  fresh. 
After  the  heat  was  over,  the  crowd  rushed  into  the 
enclosed  space  en  masse  /  an  endeavor  was  made  to 
clear  a  portion  of  the  track  of  the  multitude  who 
had  now  taken  possession  of  it,  and  after  great  exer- 
tions a  line  was  formed,  through  which  the  horses 
came  up  for  the 

Second  Heat. — Fashion  led  off  with  a  moderate 
stroke,  and  carried  on  the  running  down  the  back 
stretch  with  a  lead  of  about  three  lengths.     After 


170         LITE  OF  WILLIAM  T.  PORTEK. 

making  tlie  ascent  of  the  liill,  Boston  challenged, 
closed  the  gap,  and  lapped  her.  A  tremendous  shout 
arose  on  all  hands  at  this  rally,  but  as  it  subsided  on 
the  part  of  Boston's  friends,  it  was  again  more  tumul- 
tuously  caught  up  by  the  friends  of  the  mare,  as  she 
outfooted  him  before  reaching  the  head  of  the  quarter 
stretch.  She  came  through — in  1.59 — three  or  four 
lengths  ahead,  and  kept  up  her  rate  down  the  entire 
straight  stretch  on  the  rear  of  the  course.  After  get- 
ting over  the  hill,  Boston,  as  before,  made  a  rush,  and 
succeeded  in  collaring  the  mare,  while  she,  as  before, 
again  threw  him  off,  and  led  through  by  two  or  three 
lengths,  in  1.57.  Gil  relieved  his  horse  for  the  next 
600  yards,  but  instead  of  waiting  for  Fashion  to  ascend 
the  hill  at  the  half-mile  post  alone,  he  called  on  Bos- 
ton just  before  reaching  it,  and  the  two  went  over  it 
nearly  together  ;  no  sooner  had  they  commenced  the 
descending  ground,  than,  gathering  all  his  energies  for 
a  final  and  desperate  eflbrt,  Boston  made  a  dash,  and 
this  time  he  succeeded  in  taking  the  track  !  The  scene 
which  ensued  we  have  no  words  to  describe.  Such 
cheering,  such  betting,  and  so  many  long  fiices,  were 
never  seen  nor  heard  before.  After  being  compelled 
to  give  up  the  track,  Joe  Laird,  with  the  utmost  pru- 
dence and  good  sense,  took  his  mare  in  hand,  and 
gave  her  time  to  recover  her  wind.  This  run  tooh  the 
shine  out  of  Boston  !  Instead  of  pulling  him  steadily, 
and  refreshing  him  with  a  slight  respite,  Gil  Patrick 
kept  him  at  work  after  he  took  the  track,  and  run  this 
mile — the  third — in  1.51|  !  Tlie  pace  was  tremen- 
dous !     Nothing  short  of  limbs  of  steel  and  sinews  of 


LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE.  lYl 

catgut  could  stand  up  under  such  a  press  !  On  the 
first  turn  after  passing  the  stand,  Fashion,  now  fresh 
again,  made  a  dash,  and  as  Boston  had  not  another 
run  left  in  him,  she  cut  him  down  in  her  stride,  op- 
posite the  quarter-mile  post,  and  the  thing  was  out. 
The  race,  so  far  as  Boston  was  concerned,  was  past 
praying  for  !  If  any  thing  can  parallel  Fashion's  turn 
of  speed,  it  is  her  invincible  game.  She  now  gradu- 
ally dropped  him,  and  without  another  effort  on  his 
part  to  retrieve  the  fortunes  of  the  day,  she  came 
home  a  gallant  and  easy  winner  in  7.45  !  Boston 
pulled  up  inside  of  the  distance  stand,  and  walked 
over  the  score !  As  she  came  under  the  judges' 
cord  extended  across  the  course,  Boston  was  exactly 
sixty  yards  behind,  though  he  could  have  placed  him- 
self in  a  better  position  had  Gil  called  upon  him. 

As  Joe  Laird  rode  Fashion  back  to  the  stand, 
the  shouts  were  so  deafening,  that  had  not  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Club  and  another  gentleman  held  on  to 
her  bridle,  she  would  not  only  have  "  enlarged  the 
circle  of  her  acquaintance  "  very  speedily,  but  "  made 
a  mash  "  of  some  dozen  of  "  the  rank  and  file,"  then 
and  there  assembled.  She  looked  as  if  another  heat 
would  not  "  set  her  back  any." 

And  thus  did  the  North  settle  its  account  with  the 
South,  for  the  victory  achieved  by  Bascombe  over 
Post  Boy.  It  was  a  magnificent  race — one  which 
will  be  remembered  by  every  one  who  witnessed  it 
"  while  Memory  holds  her  seat."  Though  beaten,  it  is 
conceded  on  all  hands  that  Boston  has  acquired  a 
more  "  vast  renown  "  by  this  wonderful  race  than  by 


172  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

his  tliirty-live  previous  victories  combined.  He  is 
worth  more  since  than  he  was  before  the  match. 
"  All  that  can  be  said  is,  that  Boston  has  beaten  him- 
self, and  Fashion  has  beaten  Boston  !  "  The  spirit  of 
his  owners  on  this,  as  npon  a  like  memorable  occasion, 
in  May,  1823,  is  worthy  of  them,  and  of  the  Old  Do- 
minion. Of  one  of  them  it  has  been  well  said,  that, 
"  like  another  Kapoleon,  he  is  never  more  to  be  feared 
than  in  his  reverses  !  " 

In  congratulating  each  other  upon  the  brilliant 
triumph  achieved  by  the  Northern  Champion — ^now 
the  Champion  of  the  American  Turf,  let  no  one  forget 
to  do  honor  to  those  to  whose  admirable  skill  and  judg- 
ment the  North  is  mainly  indebted  for  its  victory.  To 
Mr.  Samuel  Laird,  the  trainer  and  jockey  of  Fashion, 
and  to  his  fine-spirited  son,  who  jockeyed  her  in  a 
style  that  w^ould  have  conferred  credit  upon  Jem 
Kobinson,  too  much  credit  cannot  be  given.  Nor  let 
us  forget  that  to  the  gallant  Boston  we  are  indebted 
for  ascertaining  the  indomitable  game  and  surpassing 
speed  of  our  Champion.  What  else  could  have  dis- 
played it  in  such  bold  and  beautiful  relief?  Arthur 
Taylor  brought  him  to  the  post  in  the  very  finest  pos- 
sible condition,  and  Gil  Patrick,  his  jockey,  rarely 
distinguished  himself  more  than  upon  this  occasion. 
Most  of  our  contemporaries  state  that  he  rode  with 
spurs.  He  wore  one  only,  and  that  only  in  the  second 
heat. 

It  is  peculiarly  gratifying  to  ourselves,  though  we 
have  the  pleasure  of  numbering  all  the  parties  among 
our  personal  friends,  tliat  Mr.  Gibbons,  the  owner  of 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TOKTEK.  173 

Pasliion,  is  among  the  oldest,  most  stanch,  and  most 
generous  of  the  number.  Unfortunately  he  was  pre- 
vented from  witnessing  the  race,  in  consequence  of 
an  accident  which  for  some  time  has  confined  him  at 
home.  In  his  absence,  another  tried  friend,  Walter 
Livingston,  Esq.,  the  owner  of  Trustee — the  sire  of 
Fashion — was  congratulated  on  all  hands ;  he  has 
never  doubted  Fashion's  success  from  the  first.  Col. 
W.  Larkin  White,  of  Virginia,  who  was  also  in  at- 
tendance, came  in  for  a  liberal  portion  of  the  good 
feeling  displayed.  l!^or  should  it  go  unrecorded  that 
Col.  Johnson  was  by  no  means  forgotten  in  the  gen- 
eral outburst  of  congratulation.  He  "  sold  the  stick 
which  broke  his  own  head,"  and  no  mistake,  for  after 
breeding  Bonnets  o'  Blue  from  his  own  Sir  Charles, 
and  running  her  with  great  success,  he  parted  with 
her  to  Mr.  Gibbons,  who  bred  from  her  a  filly,  which 
has  beaten  the  best  horse  Col.  Johnson  has  ever  had 
in  his  stable,  since  the  days  of  his  favorite  Keality, 
the  renowned  grand-dam  of  Fashion  herself. 


Eecapitulation  : 

Tuesday,  May  10, 1842.— Match,  the  North  vs.  the  South,  |20,000 
aside,  $5,000  ft.,  four-mile  heats.  Heury  H.  Toler's  and 
"William  Gibbons'  ch.  m.  Fashion,  by  Imp.  Trustee,  out  of 
Bonnets  o'  Blue,  Mariner's  dam,  by  Sir  Charles,  5  years, 
111  lbs Joseph  Laird,  1 — 1 

Col.  "Wm.  E.  Johnson's  and  James  Long's  ch.  h,  Boston,  by  Timo- 
leon,  out  of  Kobin  Brown's  dam  by  Ball's  Florizel,  9  years, 
126  lbs Gil  Patrick,  2—2 


174  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 


First  Heat. 

Second  Heat 

Time  of  1st  mile    . 

.     1.53 

Time  of  1st  mile    . 

.     1.59 

"     "  2d      "      . 

.     1.50i 

"      "   2d      "      . 

.    1.57 

"      "    3d      "       .         . 

.     1.54 

"      "  3d      "      . 

.    L51-i 

"      "   4th     "       .         . 

.    1.55 

"     "  4th     «      . 

.     1.57i 

Time  of  First  Heat 

.    1.Zi\ 

Time  of  Second  Heat 

.    7.45 

At  the  Jockey  Club  dinner,  after  the  match,  Mr. 
Long  offered  to  run  Boston  against  Fashion,  for  $20,- 
000,  $5,000  forfeit,  fonr-mile  heats,  at  any  time  to  be 
agreed  upon  by  the  parties  between  the  25th  of  Sep- 
tember and  the  25th  of  October  next.  He  also  au- 
thorized us  to  state  in  our  Extra,  that  he  would  bet 
$1,000  he  wins  the  regular  Jockey  Club  purse,  four- 
mile  heats,  on  Friday,  on  the  Union  Course  ;  $1,000 
that  Boston  wins  the  Jockey  Club  purse  at  Trenton, 
and  $1,000  that  Boston  wins  the  Jockey  Club  at 
Camden,  the  week  following. 

Last  Day. — The  attraction  of  three  races,  in  one 
of  which  Boston  was  to  contend  with  a  son  of  Bonnets 
o'  Blue,  drew  a  large  assemblage  to  the  Course,  and 
they  were  amply  entertained  by  a  race,  if  not  so 
brilliant  as  that  of  Fashion  on  Tuesday,  at  least  as 
critical,  and  apparently  more  doubtful.  The  sport 
commenced  with  a  trial  of  speed  at  mile  heats  be- 
tween Tempest  and  Prima  Donna,  the  colt  winning 
in  two  heats,  the  latter  of  which  was  particularly  in- 
teresting. Time :  1.55 — 1.55.  Joe  Laird  jockeyed 
the  winner,  who,  Ave  regret  to  say,  was  sold  at  auction 
after  the  race,  and  was  knocked  down  for  the  paltry 
sum  of  $180,  to  Capt.  Shirley  of  the  Ttli  Ilussars,  B. 
A.,  who  has  been  in  attendance  upon  our  races.  Other 
stock  was  offered,  but  we  learn  was  l)id  in. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  175 

Now  came  off  tlie  great  race  of  tlic  day — the  strug- 
gle between  Boston  and  Mariner.  The  former  was 
backed  in  the  morning  at  100  to  30,  and  before  the 
start  at  100  to  20,  which  were  not  taken  with  alacrity. 
Boston  had  the  pole,  but  retained  it  for  a  few  yards 
only,  Mariner  going  to  the  front  on  the  first  turn,  and 
leading  by  several  lengths.  The  pace  for  the  first 
mile  was  so  slow  as  2.13,  Mariner  cutting  out  the 
work  ;  he  increased  his  rate  in  the  second  mile,  which 
was  run  in  about  2.05,  oj^ening  the  gap  on  the  back 
side  between  Boston  and  himself,  while  Boston  less- 
ened it  a  little  in  the  straight,  running  in  front.  In 
the  third  mile,  the  pace  was  still  further  improved, 
both  horses  tasting  the  persuaders  freely  ;  the  fourth 
mile  was  yet  more  desperately  contested,  though 
without  much  change  in  the  position  of  the  horses. 
Boston,  who  was  ridden  by  Gil,  without  spurs,  was 
most  severely  scored  in  coming  home  ;  but  as  it  was 
all  in  vain,  he  pulled  him  up  inside  the  distance  stand. 
Mariner  came  in  amidst  the  most  tremendous  shouts, 
in  8.13. 

The  friends  of  Old  White}iose  were  undismayed 
by  the  loss  of  the  heat,  and  he  still  retained  the  call 
in  the  betting  at  about  100  to  80,  As  in  the  former 
heat,  Joe  Laird  went  away  with  the  lead,  and  driving 
his  horse  at  a  much  better  pace  than  before.  At  the 
south  turn  in  the  commencement  of  the  second  mile, 
the  old  horse  showed  a  taste  of  his  old  style  of  going, 
challenged  for  the  lead,  and  gained  it  in  a  twinkling. 
No  respite,  however,  was  given  by  Joe  to  Mariner, 
who  ran  well  up  throughout  that  and  the  following 


176  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TOKTEK. 

mile,  though  the  running  was  strongly  forced  by 
Gil  Patrick.  In  the  first  quarter  of  the  fourth  mile, 
in  very  nearly  the  place  where  Fashion  made  her  run, 
Joe  went  up  with  a  rush,  took  the  track  with  apparent 
ease,  continued  to  urge  his  horse  with  whip  and  spur, 
widening  the  gap  with  every  stride.  Before  they  came 
into  straight  running,  he  w^as  leading  by  six  or  eight 
lengths,  and  the  race  was  apparently  safe.  But  here 
Gil  Patrick  brought  up  his  nag  in  a  style  quite  in- 
comparable ;  such  a  rush  we  do  not  remember  ever 
to  have  seen  made ;  the  old  horse  appeared  to  sym- 
pathize with  his  eager  rider,  and  showed  all  of  that 
speed  which  has  won  for  him  his  great  renown.  Joe 
did  not  appear  to  be  aware  of  his  close  proximity  till 
he  came  within  the  gates,  when  he  too  found  his  whip, 
and  plied  it  lustily.  The  thing  was  out,  however,  for 
nothing  but  a  locomotive  could  have  held  its  way  with 
Boston,  who  in  his  turn  came  home,  amid  the  enthu- 
siastic cries  of  the  populace,  in  7.46.  Many  watches 
made  the  time  a  half-second  quicker.  The  heat,  which 
was  won  by  a  length,  was  the  most  interesting  we 
recollect  ever  to  have  seen.  We  have  heard  the  rid- 
ing of  Joe  in  the  last  mile  criticized  ;  it  is  said  he  took 
too  much  out  of  his  horse  after  he  had  passed  Boston, 
by  forcing  the  run  as  he  did.  Our  impression  is  that 
he  pursued  the  safer  course,  and  that  he  lost  the  heat 
only  in  consequence  of  the  tremendous  speed  which 
his  antagonist  exhibited  in  the  quarter  stretch.  There 
is  no  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  masterly  style  in 
which  Gil  took  the  heat ;  it  would  compare  fivorably 
with  any  performance  of  Chifhoy  or  Robinson. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TOKTER.  177 

The  third  heat  was  scarcely  less  interesting  than 
the  previous  one.  Boston  took  up  the  running  early, 
but  was  followed  by  Mariner  at  the  best  pace  steel 
and  catgut  could  get  out  of  him.  This  severe  chase 
continued  throughout  three  miles  and  a  half,  when 
Mariner  closed  up  a  little.  In  coming  into  the  quar- 
ter stretch  home,  Gil  gave  the  pole  a  wide  berth,  and 
Joe  immediately  took  advantage  of  it,  and  made  a  rush 
to  take  the  lead  on  the  inside.  The  struggle  was  now 
most  exciting,  as  Mariner  was  evidently  drawling  rapid- 
ly upon  his  antagonist.  At  about  the  distance  stand 
he  lapped  on  to  him,  when  Gil  appeared  to  pull  his  horse 
towards  the  pole  again,  and  thus  crossed  the  path  of 
Mariner  and  interrupted  his  stride.  The  pace  was  ter- 
rific, however,  till  the  finish,  Boston  taking  the  heat, 
with  his  tail  flirting  directly  in  the  face  of  his  compet- 
itor. Time,  7.58|.  A  complaint  was  then  made  of  foul 
riding  against  the  winner,  but  it  was  not  deemed  by 
the  judges  to  be  substantiated,  and  the  race  and  purse 
were  accordingly  awarded  to  Boston.  All  know  how 
critical  and  hazardous  is  the  attempt  to  pass  a  leading 
horse  on  the  inside.  Many  believe  that  Joe  Laird 
was  authorized  by  the  position  of  Boston  to  make 
the  eftbrt  he  did,  and  that  for  being  crossed  and 
crowded,  he  would  have  won  the  race  by  it.  The 
rightful  authorities  decided  otherwise,  however,  and 
we  acquiesce  in  their  decision  without  hesitation. 

The  race  will  be  long  remembered  as  one  of  the 
most  interesting  that  ever  came  off  on  Long  Island. 
The  performance  of  Mariner  surprised  all  his  friends 
by  the  unwonted  speed  which  he  displayed,  while  he 


178  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE. 

ran  as  game  a  race  as  any  horse  that  ever  made  a  track. 
After  the  wonderful  performance  of  Boston  on  Tues- 
day last,  his  race  of  yesterday  will,  we  have  no  doubt, 
be  esteemed  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  the  annals 
of  the  Turf. 

The  profound  disappointment  which  was  experi- 
enced by  the  Southern  friends  of  Boston  is  plainly  and 
honestly  acknowledged  in  the  columns  of  the  Eich- 
mond  "  Whig  "  three  days  after  the  race.  "  Boston  is 
beaten !  We  did  not  announce  the  defeat  of  the 
Whigs  with  a  profounder  sorrow.  We  feel  a  melan- 
choly on  the  occasion,  akin  to  that  inspired  by  the 
death  of  some  great  public  benefactor.  A  noble  steed 
— the  boast  and  glory  of  his  native  State — the  victor 
of  a  hundred  fields — has  been  arrested  in  his  illustrious 
career,  and  in  one  brief  day  been  stripped  of  all  his 
glories  ;  and  that  too  by  2^'parvenue — a  thing  of  to-day 
— unknown  yesterday,  and  destined,  but  for  this  un- 
fortunate occurrence,  to  be  forgotten  to-morrow.  TT'e 
wish  we  had  lost  money  upon  him  !  That  would  have 
been  an  earnest  of  our  sympathy  for  the  noble  sorrows 
which  rend  his  generous  bosom — and  might,  by  the 
compliment  implied,  have  tended  to  assuage  the  bitter- 
ness of  his  grief.  But  it  is  idle  to  indulge  in  lamenta- 
tions. The  times  are  sadly  out  of  joint,  and  no  longer 
is  the  race  to  the  swift  or  the  battle  to  the  strong. 
Boston  is  outstripped,  and  the  Whigs  overthrown !  No 
event  has  excited  so  much  commotion  in  the  city, 
since  the  news  of  the  Eevolution  of  the  Palisades  in 
Paris." 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  the  bold  and  honor- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TORTER.  179 

able  course  taken  by  tlie  editor  of  the  "  Spirit "  in 
regard  to  matters  connected  with  this  exciting  race, 
liad  drawn  upon  him  unmerited  and  low  abuse  ;  in  his 
paper  of  May  21st  (which  by  the  way  is  a  proud  speci- 
men of  Mr.  Porter's  industry,  as  nearly  ten  of  its  wide 
columns  consist  of  solid  editorial  matter)  he  notices  the 
ungenerous  comments  upon  his  course  in  a  spirit  ex- 
ceedingly creditable  to  his  courage  and  truthfulness, 
and  which  was  pronounced  a  triumphant  vindication 
of  these  qualities  which  with  him  were  inborn  and 
ineffaceable.     He  closes  with  these  words  : 

"  We  have  little  left  us  in  this  world  besides  an  hiimble  repu- 
tation, and  a  charactei-  hitherto  untarnished.  "We  are  in  a  posi- 
tion, however  undeserved,  of  great  responsibility,  and  oftentimes 
requiring  the  exercise  of  great  judgment  and  the  most  delicate 
and  adroit  modes  of  expression — occasions  where  silence  would 
be  the  worst  possible  course,  and  the  obligation  to  say  something 
can  neither  be  shunned  nor  fulfilled  by  a  hollow  counterfeit, 
"When  we  are  so  circumstanced  and  are  compelled  by  a  sense  of 
duty  to  express  our  sentiments,  Ave  do  not  intend  to  look  calmly 
on  and  see  our  '  good  name  filched  from  us '  because  they  may 
have  conflicted  with  the  interests  of  any  man.  And  we  now  take 
leave  to  say,  once  for  all,  that  when  any  reader  of  our  sheet  finds 
in  its  columns  an  editorial  article  that  unfortunately  clashes  with 
his  interests,  he  may  be  sure,  and  we  beg  of  him  to  believe,  that 
it  was  written  under  a  sense  of  the  highest  obligations  to  waive 
all  personal  predilections,  and  disregard  individual  interests,  for 
the  general  good.  But  if  his  charity  cannot  extend  so  far,  let 
him  not  go  so  far  as  to  calumniate  tis  for  telling  the  lare  truth — 
let  him  not  preach  homilies  on  honesty  to  us  because  we  do  not 
suppress  important  facts  that  he  may  realize  extravagant  antici- 
pations—and let  him  not  hope  to  muzzle  the  expression  of  our 
candid  convictions  or  to  forestall  swift  coming  rumors  by  confid- 
ing to  us  as  a  secret  what  he  well  knows  we  must  learn  in  a 


180  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK. 

few  sliort  hours  from  a  hundred  sources.  But  if  charity  and  coa- 
fidence  cannot  go  so  far,  and  if  any  one  still  chooses  to  pursue  a 
different  course  with  us,  he  may  rely  upon  it  we  shall  ever  be 
found  ready  and  prompt  to  vindicate  our  conduct  to  the  world, 
and  by  such  means  as  lie  in  our  power  will  we  show  our  deter- 
mination of  not  tamely  submitting  to  abusive  charges  and  vindic- 
tive imputations,  gross  as  they  are  groundless." 

About  tliis  time  George  Porter  concluded  an  ar- 
rangement to  become  an  associate  editor  of  the  New- 
Orleans  "  Picayune."  He  still  retained  a  lingering 
affection  for  liis  original  profession,  which  he  hoped 
he  should  ultimately  be  able  to  resume  in  that  city. 
The  first  intelligence  we  had  of  all  this  was  communi- 
cated in  a  letter  from  George,  dated  at  New  York, 
October  20th,  1842,  in  which  he  stated  his  purposes, 
and  that  he  was  on  the  eve  of  sailing  for  New  Or- 
leans ;  he  added :  "  My  desire  is  to  return  exclusively 
to  the  law."  In  compliance  with  his  request,  we 
furnished  him  with  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  Hon. 
Balie  Peyton,  then  IT.  S.  Attorney  for  the  Southern 
District  of  Louisiana,  soliciting  his  aid  and  countenance 
in  furthering  the  cherished  object  of  Mr.  Porter. 

On  his  arrival  at  New  Orleans,  he  entered  at 
once  on  his  duties  in  the  office  of  the  "  Picayune." 
In  a  letter  of  the  23d  of  March,  1813,  he  writes  : 

"  No  dray  horse  on  the  levee  works  more  steadily  than  I.  I 
have  the  hang  of  the  office  at  last,  and  have  little  difficulty ; 
but  I  pull  most  decidedly  the  laboring  oar,  if  I  except  Kendall, 
who  works  like  an  engine  of  a  hundred  horse  power,  though 
much  of  his  labor  is  given  to  revisals  of  what  others  may  Lave 
written.     =!=    *    *    j  gi^jjll  hold  fast,  always  being  ready,  how- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  181 

ever,  to  embrace  any  thing  like  a  living  in  the  law.  As  it  is,  I 
have  not  missed  a  day's  work  since  I  have  been  here.  *  *  * 
So  you  see  I  am  likely  to  live  here  as  long  as  Yelloio  Jaclc  will 
allow." 

"  Here  I  am,"  said  he  in  a  letter  of  the  previous  November, 
"  perched  up  in  the  St.  Charles,  some  ten  feet  nearer  heaven  than 
any  other  spot  of  land,  I  believe,  in  the  whole  State  of  Louisi- 
ana. *  *  *  I  am  grinding  out  inanities  for  the  '  Picayune^'' 
which  is  a  paper  too  neutral  in  its  character— as  well  in  religion, 
literature  and  criticism  as  in  politics— to  allow  a  Northerner  to 
express  therein  such  poor  thoughts  as  may  enter  his  dull 
brain.  *  *  *  Mr.  Peyton  has  not  yet  reached  New  Orleans, 
nor  is  he  expected  much  before  the  1st  proximo.  Judge  Porter 
resides  in  the  Attakapas,  a  goodly  distance  hence,  where  he  is 
now  awaiting  Mr.  Clay's  arrival,  who  will  spend  some  days  at 
Oak  Lawn,  and  then  both  the  ex-Senators  will  come  to  New 
Orleans. 

"  Nothing  definite  in  regard  to  my  legal  pursuits  will  be  deter- 
mined till  such  time  as  I  can  sec  both  Mr.  Peyton  and  the 
Judge." 

It  SO  chanced  tliat  a  year  or  two  before  he  started 
for  the  South,  Francis  T.  Porter  the  youngest  of  the 
brothers,  had  returned  to  New  York,  after  a  pro- 
tracted residence  in  Mississippi,  to  the  great  delight 
and  advantage  of  his  brothers.  Of  more  delicate  or- 
ganization than  either  of  his  family,  Frank,  as  his 
friends  loved  to  call  him,  was  of  abundant  spirit  and 
talents — of  irresistible  will,  pjecise  habits,  and  the 
very  soul  of  honor.  In  resolution  and  fixedness  of 
purpose,  he  was  superior  to  either  of  his  elder  broth- 
ers. A  comparatively  fragile  frame  seemed  to  require 
the  hardening  process  of  an  active  life,  and  he  was 
accordingly  educated  in  reference  to  becoming  a  mer- 


182  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER, 

cliant.  Ill  1835,  when  about  seventeen  years  of  age, 
lie  entered  a  coiiiiting-lionse  in  New  York.  Thus  all 
the  brothers,  one  by  one,  had  migrated  from  the  quiet 
scenes  of  childhood,  and  settled  in  the  wilderness  of 
a  vast  city. 

On  reaching  his  majority,  Frank  became  one  of 
the  firm  of  Davidson,  Porter  &  Co, ;  the  partners 
being  then  well  established  at  Amsterdam,  Hind's 
County,  Mississippi,  to  which  place  he  at  once  re- 
moved. He  writes  on  the  Yth  of  February,  1837 : 
"  Although  the  youngest  of  the  family,  I  have  wan- 
dered farther  from  the  spot  where  our  parents  sleep 
than  any,  *  *  -  My  health  is  passable  ;  as  well, 
perhaps,  as  I  could  expect  after  having  the  bilious 
fever  five  times  this  year  !  " 

In  subsequent  letters  he  gives  animating  accounts 
of  his  business  prospects,  and  facetiously  alludes  to  his 
election  as  one  of  the  "  Selectmen^''  and  to  the  offer 
that  he  should  be  Postmaster.  He  devoted  himself 
to  business,  until  his  impaired  health  warned  him  to 
leave  the  pestilential  climate  of  Mississippi,  and  he 
again  became  a  resident  of  New  York  in  1839.  It  was 
then  that  the  natural  taste  for  writing,  so  characteristic 
of  the  family,  became  confirmed,  and  the  "  Spirit  of 
the  Times  "  shared  the  benefit  of  his  judicious  the- 
atrical criticisms,  and  other  productions  of  his  pen. 

Ill  the  autumn  of  1842  he  received  an  apj)ointment 
in  the  Custom  House  from  Hon.  Edward  Curtis,  the 
Collector  of  New  York.  Tlie  duties  were  agreeable, 
and  he  performed  them  with  fidelity,  until  he  was  re- 
moved by  the  successor  of  Mr.  Curtis,  on  account  of 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    rORTER.  183 

his  Whig  principles.  In  the  month  of  December, 
1846,  he  sailed  for  ISTew  Orleans  with  the  purpose  of 
again  embarking  in  mercantile  pursuits.  His  brother 
George  was  delighted  at  his  unexpected  arrival,  which 
seemed  almost  providential ;  for  he  had  just  written 
to  him,  urging  his  acceptance  of  a  ]30st  in  the  office  of 
the  "  Picayune."  Frank  wrote  to  William  in  refer- 
ence to  this  proposition  :  "  If  I  do  not  get  a  mercantile 
oifer  this  week,  I  shall  accept  it,  until  I  can  get  one." 
He  adds :  "  George  is  well,  but  looks  very  thin  and  pale 
— works  very  hard.  He  lives  in  good  style,  and  has 
every  thing  about  his  house  comfortable  and  elegant." 

Li  1843  the  "  Picayune  "  reported  the  Fall  races 
on  the  Louisiana  course  in  'New  Orleans,  and  pro- 
nounced the  race  between  Miss  Foote^  George  Martin 
and  George  W.  Kendall^  which  came  off"  on  the  fourtii 
day,  as  "  the  best  three  four-mile  heats  ever  made  in 
the  world,"— time  7.36^—7.39— T.Sli— Miss  Foote 
being  the  winner. 

On  this  statement  the  "  Spirit  "  thus  comments  : 

'"iVi'ne  cheers  for  Miss  Foote!''  were  duly  proposed  and 
responded  to  in  the  '  Spirit '  office,  on  Wednesday  morning  last. 
Throngliout  the  day  the  '  front  office  '  was  crammed,  while  in  the 
sanctum  sanctorum  of  the  editor  there  was  not  room  for  a  man 
as  thin  as  Calvin  Edson.  Three  several  times  the  report  above, 
written  by  '  that  other  gentleman  '  for  the  '  Picayune,'  was 
read  aloud.  The  original  report  was  surmounted  by  the  caption 
of  '  The  Best  Eace  ever  run  in  the  World  ! '  which  it  is — 
in  a  cornucopia!  We  have  taken  the  liberty  of  altering  that 
same  caption.  We  concede  the  point,  however,  that  Miss  Foote 
and  George  Martin  have  run  '  the  best  three  heats  '  of  four  miles 
*  ever  run '  in  this  world  or  any  other,  though  there  are  many 


184  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TOKTER. 

sticklers  for  irroi^er  tceightfor  age  who  will  not.  The  races  of 
Lady  Clifden  and  Picton,  of  Grey  Medoc  and  Altorf,  and  espe- 
cially that  of  Henry  against  Eclipse,  when,  though  not  quite /owr 
years  old,  he  carried  one  hundred  and  eight  ipoundii^  have  been 
discussed  over  and  over  again,  in  connection  with  this  perform- 
ance of  Miss  Foote  and  George  Martin.  Assuming  the  English 
axiom  that  '  seven  pounds  is  equal  to  a  distance  '  (or  240  yards 
in  four  miles),  the  difference  in  weight  in  Miss  Foote's  favor  gave 
her  an  advantage  over  Henry  of  about  Five  Hundred  and  Sixty- 
Jive  yards! — nearly  one-third  of  a  mUe  in  each  heat.  Miss 
Foote's  three  heats  were  run  in  17|  seconds  less  time  than  the 
three  heats  of  Lady  Clifden.  She,  as  a  4  yr.  old,  carried  101  lbs. ; 
Miss  Foote,  two  months  later  in  the  season,  carried,  as  a  4  yr, 
old,  97  lbs.  "We  do  not,  however,  subscribe  to  the  ojiinion  that 
'  seven  pounds  is  equal  to  a  distance,'  as  a  general  rule,  though 
it  has  obtained  in  England  for  more  than  half  a  century.  In  the 
races  between  Muley  Moloch  and  Glaucus,  3  lbs.  given  to  the 
latter  enabled  him  to  beat  Muley  Moloch,  who  had  beaten  him 
two  days  previous,  and  this  in  a  race  of  two  miles,  when  both 
were  5  yrs.  old.  Indeed,  horses  are  now  handicapped  there  with 
such  consummate  judgment  {vide  case  of  Charles  Xllth  and  Hyl- 
lus]  that  Jem  Eobinson,  the  famous  jockey,  wittily  remarked  not 
long  since,  in  accounting  for  losing  a  closely  contested  race,  that 
he  lost  it  from  having  carried  the  key  of  the  stable  in  his  pocket ! 
"  '  The  only  horse,'  remarks  the  '  Picayune,'  '  which  has  any 
title  to  assume  an  equality  with  Miss  Foote  \&  Fashion,''  and  then 
it  goes  on  to  state  that  '  the  aggregate  time  of  Fashion's  two  heats 
Avith  Boston  was  two  seconds  slower  than  the  two  first  heats  ot 
the  race  there,'  The  'aggregate!'  Stutf! — as  if  the  'aggre- 
gate '  had  any  thing  to  do  with  the  matter.  "Why,  they  ciphered 
the  heats  of  a  three-raWQ  race  in  Kentucky  not  long  since,  in  such 
an  extraordinary  way  as  to  beat  Eclipse  and  Henry's  time  atfour- 
mile  heats  into  fits !  Inasmuch  as  Miss  Foote  did  not  happen  to 
win  the  first  heat  of '  her '  race,  [won  by  George  INfartin  '  in  7.36}j, 
by  three  or  four  open  lengths,']  we  are  surprised  the  '  Picayimc ' 
does  not  give  George  Martin,  instead  of  Fashion,  a  '  title  to  as- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  185 

sume  an  equality  with  Miss  Foote.'  "What  a  compliment  to  the 
Northern  Champion !  This  grant  to  Fashion  of  a  '  title  to  assume 
an  eqiiality  '  with  any  horse  on  the  American  Turf  is  '  piling  up 
the  agony '  a  '  leetle  too  mountainous ! ' 

"  In  another  paragraph  the  '  Picayune  '  states  that  '  the  eight 
miles  in  Fashion's  race  with  Boston  were  run  in  15  minutes 
17^  seconds,  while  the  two  heats  in  this  race  [George  Martin's 
and  Miss  Foote's]  were  run  in  15  minutes  and  15|  seconds.'  Here 
is  the  monstrous  discrepancy  of  tioo  seconds  in  a  race,  won  by 
Fashion  in  two  heats  in  the  one  case,  Avhile  two  Jioi'ses  were  re- 
quired to  make  the  time  in  the  other.  Moreover,  Fashion  as  a  5 
yr.  old,  carried  on  the  10th  of  May  111  lbs.,  (though  foaled  so 
late  as  the  26th  of  April.)  Miss  Foote  runs  as  a  4  yr.  old  on  the 
24th  of  Dec,  carrying  97  lbs.,  when  seven  days  later  she  would 
have  been  rated  aifive  years  old,  and  been  obliged  to  take  up  ten 
pounds  more,  or  107  lbs.  Fashion,  less  than  five  months  later 
than  Miss  Foote,  and  at  the  same  age,  carried  fourteen  pounds 
MORE  WEIGHT,  She  won  her  two  heats  in  7.32|— 7.45,  while 
Miss  Foote  lost  the  1st  heat  of  '  her  '  race  in  7.36i,  and  won  the 
2d  in  7.39,  If  she  or  George  Martin  could  have  run  the  1st  heat 
in  7.321,  does  any  one  in  his  senses  suppose  either  could  have 
repeated  it  '  low  down  in  the  forties '  ?  Fashion  won  her  2d  heat 
with  ease,  '  by  exactly  sixty  yards,'  while  Miss  Foote,  after  '  a 
desperate  contest,  under  the  spur,  from  end  to  end,'  won  by  only 
'  two  lengths '  from  George  Martin,  who  having  been  passed 
'  inside  of  the  distance  stand '  was  '  taken  in  hand  and  galloped 
past  the  stand,'  And  notwithstanding  all  this,  the  '  Picayune ' 
gravely  informs  the  friends  of  Fashion  that  she  is  'the  only 
horse  which  has  now  any  title  to  assume  an  equality  with  Miss 
Foote ! '  This  is  really  outrageous ;  as  Dogberry  said, '  It  is  most 
tolerable  and  not  to  be  endured.'  " 

Tliis  criticism  drew  from  William's  especial  friend, 
tlie  Hon.  Alexander  Porter,  of  Louisiana,  the  follow- 
ing admirable  letter : 


186  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK. 

"  Oak  Lawn,  January  23, 1843. 

"  My  Dear  Sir: — I  ought  long  siuce  to  have  answered  yours 
of  the  30th  November.  But  I  have  had  a  busy  whiter;  Mr. 
Clay's  visit  to  me,  the  crowds  which  thronged  Oak  Lawn  dur- 
ing his  stay,  my  trip  with  him  to  New  Orleans,  »&c.,  &c.,  have 
interfered  a  good  deal  Avith  my  quiet  and  punctual  habits.  I 
saw  George  in  the  city,  and  had  a  good  long  talk  with  him  about 
his  prospects  and  intentions.  lie  is  doing  better  in  the  '  Picayune ' 
establishment  at  present,  than  he  could  if  he  had  a  license  to 
practise  law  in  his  pocket.  But  whether  greater  success  in  the 
department  which  now  exercises  his  talents  (and  they  are  very 
good)  is  an  equivalent  to  the  greater  rewards  which  would  follow 
distinction  at  the  bar,  is  perhaps  a  question  not  unworthy  of  con- 
sideration. 

"  He  has  written  some  very  good  accounts  of  the  races  here, 
for  the  paper  to  which  he  is  attached,  and  I  don't  think  you 
have  done  the  exactly  clear  thing  towards  him.  Your  criticisms 
on  his  remarks  about  the  comparative  excellence  oi  Miss  Footers 
and  Fashiori's  races  are  very  ingenious,  but,  my  dear  sir,  they  are 
the  arguments  of  a  counsel  in  a  cause,  and  not  the  judge  who 
decides  it.  You  call  his  taking  the  aggregate  of  the  two  heats 
stuff.  Why  you  so  name  it,  unless  you  mean  good  stuff  I  cannot 
see.  If  Miss  Foote  made  eight  miles  in  less  time  than  Fashion,  is  not 
that  an  evidence  of  her  superiority,  ceteris  paribus  ?  And  is  that 
in  any  way  affected  by  another  horse  having  beaten  Miss  Foote 
in  one  of  the  heats  ?  The  Little  Lady  could  have  won  the  first 
heat,  in  the  opinion  of  every  one  who  saw  it,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  great  gap  she  most  unadvisedly  suffered  the  horse  to  make 
between  them.  As  it  was,  she  was  only  two  lengths  behind. 
And  then  this  idea,  now  for  the  first  time  (I  think)  put  forward, 
that  her  race  is  not  of  the  value  it  appears  at  first  blush  to  have, 
because  she  will  have  to  carry  more  weiglit  next  year — I  do  not 
think  there  is  any  thing  in  that.  Have  yon  ever  met  with  that 
as  a  reason  given  elsewhere  why  a  race  should  be  considered 
better  or  worse  ?  If  it  is  a  good  one,  it  ought  to  have  been 
mentioned  this  fall  when  Fashion  won  her  two  races.  But  to 
leave  controversy,  will  you  permit  an  old  man,  and  one  who  loves 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM    T.    TOKTEK.  187 

you  well,  to  make  a  few  remarks  to  you  of  quite  another  cbar- 
acter?  Your  position  at  present  in  tliis  country  is  in  many 
respects  an  enviable  one — it  embraces  high  duties  and  it  involves 
great  responsibilities.  You  are  in  some  respects  the  arbiter  of 
horse  reputation.  Men  look  up  to  your  opinions  with  deference, 
and  they  yield  to  them,  because  they  believe  them  to  be  the 
result  of  intelligence  and  calm  reflection.  Nothing  could  shake 
you  so  soon  in  your  high  position,  as  an  idea  going  abroad  that 
your  feelings  were  enhsted  on  one  side  or  other  of  any  matter  of 
controversy.  Hence  language  that  would  be  perfectly  appropriate 
in  one  of  your  correspondents  will  not  do  for  you.  Your  reason- 
ing and  your  remarks  must,  if  you  expect  to  give  satisfaction,  talce 
a  judicial  tone.  That  in  a  conflict  of  pride  and  opinion  between 
the  North  and  the  South  you  should,  unconsciously  to  yourself, 
feel  enlisted  in  favor  of  the  former,  is  inevitable.  You  live 
there,  you  hear  those  ai'ound  you  contmually  dwelhng  on  the 
perfections  of  a  noble  animal ;  you  see  her— you  witness  her 
generous  exertions,  and  you  end  iy  being  in  love  with  her.  All 
this  is  as  it  should  be.  If  you  were  otherwise,  you  would  want 
those  ingredients  in  your  composition  without  which  no  man  rises 
above  the  dull  level  of  the  '  sons  of  earth  !  '  But  then,  my  good 
namesake,  true  toisdom  consists  in  watching  our  strong  qualities, 
and  preventing  them  running  into  excess.  And  there  is  this  addi- 
tional reason  for  your  standing  sentinel  on  your  thoughts,  that 
your  paper  is  national,  that  it  is  meant  by  you  for  the  whole 
country,  and  the  topics  of  which  it  treats  belong  more  to  the 
South  than  to  the  North. 

"  I  think  I  see  you  smile  at  reading  this  sermon— perhaps  ex- 
claim, Well,  this  is  quite  droll,  an  Irishman  preachmg  prudence  to 
a  Yankee.  I  plead  guilty  myself  to  all  the  errors  I  dare  to  find 
in  you.  I  know  if  I  lived  in  Jersey,  I  should  think  Fashion  the 
best  i-ace-horse  in  the  world,  and  if  you  lived  here,  my  life  on  it, 
you  would  think  Miss  Foote  a  nonpareil.  Just  as  if  you  had 
been  born  and  educated  in  Spain,  you  would  have  proved  a  good 
Catholic,  and  I  a  good  Mahometan  if  I  had  been  reared  in  Tur- 
key. But  then,  I  am  not  now  a  judge — you  are.  I  can  indulge 
my  feelings— you  must  restrain  yours. 


188  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

"  I  saw  the  great  race  ia  New  Orleans  so  well  described  by 
your  brother.  It  is  very  faithfully  reported.  The  race  since, 
between  Keel  and  Miss  Foote,  I  did  not  witness.  It  terminated 
as  I  expected.  Under  the  circumstances,  nothing  else  could  be 
looked  for.  I  rather  think  Reel  can  beat  her  any  time  two  four- 
mile  heats.  But  if  they  should  be  broken  and  a  third  one  comes, 
then  I  do  not  believe  there  is  an  animal  in  America  can  prove  to 
be  a  better  nag.  I  crave  your  pardon  for  the  heresy.  But  if 
Fashion  should  be  able  to  do  so,  she  must  repeat  in  a  very  different 
style  from  what  she  has  hitherto  done. 

"  If  I  did  not  know  the  character  of  your  mind,  I  would 
apologize  to  you  for  venturing  any  counsel  to  one  of  your  ex- 
perience. But  my  heart  tells  me  my  motives  are  pure  and  kind, 
and  I  know  you  have  intelligence  and  feehng  to  appreciate  them. 
"  With  constant  regard,  yours, 

"A.  POETEK." 

Tlie  great  foot-races,  in  which  Gildersleeve  and 
Greenhalgh  were  the  respective  victors,  came  off  in 
1844 — the  former  making  over  ten  and  a  half  miles 
within  the  hour,  and  the  latter  accomplishing  twelve 
miles  in  68.48 — and  were  reported  at  great  length  by 
the  editor  of  the  "  Spirit."  "  The  interest  of  these  races 
was  not  attracted  to  see  the  running.  It  arose  from 
the  accidental  contact  of  several  of  the  circumstances 
of  the  races  with  strong  under-currents  of  national 
interest.  It  was  a  trial  of  the  Indian  against  the 
white  man  on  the  point  in  which  the  red  man  most 
boasts  his  superiority.  It  was  the  trial  of  the  purely 
American  physique  against  the  long-held  supremacy 
of  English  muscular  endurance.  *  *  *  The  white 
man  beat  the  Indian,  the  American  beat  the  English." 
These  are  the  words  of  Willis,  who  in  the  same  con- 
nection, alluding  to  the  editor  of  the  "  Spirit,"  calls 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK.  189 

him  "  the  admired  turf-clironicler,  secretary  (of  the 
Jockey  Club)  and  prophet,  Porter  the  tall." 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1845,  the  paper  entered  upon 
a  new  volume,  with  an  unsurpassed  number  of  cor- 
respondents in  addition  to  hundreds  of  old  ones  ;  yet 
in  consideration  "  of  the  low  price  of  stock  and  agri- 
cultural products  generally "  the  subscription  was 
reduced  from  ten  to  five  dollars,  its  original  price — ^a 
change,  it  may  be  added,  that  very  materially  in- 
creased its  circulation  among  the  farmers  and  stock 
breeders  of  the  country.  Perhaps  no  more  appro- 
priate place  than  the  present  will  occur  for  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Editor's  matured  opinions  on  the  im- 
portance of  horses  of  pure  blood  to  the  farmer,  and 
on  kindred  topics. 

In  reply  to  a  letter  from  Mr.  Botts'  "  Southern 
Planter,"  urging  the  necessity  of  sustaining  that  spir- 
ited, talented  and  unrivalled  sporting  paper,  "  The 
Spirit  of  the  Times,"  as  the  means  of  regenerating  the 
Sports  of  the  Turf,  and  achieving  the  reform  and  sus- 
taining the  character  of  the  thorough-bred  in  America, 
Mr.  Porter  prepared  an  admirable  argument  in  sup- 
port of  those  great  interests,  which  to  this  day  remains 
unanswerable : 

"  There  is  no  room  for  doubt  that  '  over  and  above  the  policy 
of  sustaining  the  popular  sports  of  the  country,  every  lover  of 
the  horse — every  individual  who  has  occasion  for  the  services  of 
this  useful  animal  (as  who  has  not?)  is  deeply  interested  in  the 
regeneration  of  the  sports  of  the  Turf.'  We  shall  endeavor  to 
demonstrate  that  for  daily  service  and  common  use,  the  most 
enduring,  active,  vigorous  and  handsome  horses  are  those  who 
have  a  generous  strain  of  pure  blood  coursing  through  their 


190  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER. 

veins.  We  shall  prove  that  the  surpassing  speed  and  game  of 
the  American  Trotter^  whose  fame  extends  throughout  the  world, 
dates  no  farther  hack  than  the  introduction  of  thorough-bred 
stock  into  the  New  England  States  and  remote  sections  of  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania.  This  stock  went  from  Long  Island  and 
New  Jersey ;  it  consisted  mainly  of  young  thorough-bred  colts, 
which  being  unsuited  for  the  race-course,  were  disposed  of  at 
low  rates  to  country  breeders ;  occasionally,  too,  a  thorough  or 
three-quarter  bred  mare  found  its  way  into  the  country,  the 
result  of  all  which  was  that  every  year  or  two  a  Dutchman,  a 
Ripton  or  a  Confidence  made  his  appearance. 

"  Fifteen  years  since  thousands  of  dollars  would  have  been 
wagered  that  no  horse  in  the  world  could  trot  a  mile  within 
three  minutes ;  now,  in  this  city  alone,  there  are  dozens  of  road- 
sters in  daily  use  which  can  do  it  before  a  wagon,  while  there 
are  twenty  in  the  Union  which  can  trot  a  mile  in  2.30 !  Twelve 
years  ago  to  drive  a  horse  seventy  miles  between  sun  and  sun 
Avould  have  been  deemed  a  remarkable  performance,  but  since 
strains  of  the  blood  of  Messenger,  Mambrino  and  Eclipse  have 
been  introduced  into  our  road  stock  at  the  North,  hundreds  of 
horses  can  be  found  which  can  travel  from  eighty  to  ninety  miles 
without  distress.  There  are  several  horses  now  in  this  city, 
Philadelphia  and  Boston,  which  can  travel  one  hundred  miles 
in  a  day  without  injury.  The  use  of  thorough  and  half-bred 
horses  for  domestic  purposes  has  already  become  so  common  in 
England  that  few  others  are  employed  for  the  road.  The  half- 
bred  horse  is  not  only  much  handsomer,  but  his  speed  and  powers 
of  endurance  are  infinitely  greater.  His  head  and  neck  are  light 
and  graceful,  his  limbs  fine,  his  coat  glossy  and  soft  as  satin, 
while  his  action  is  spirited,  and  his  courage  and  stamina  sufficient 
to  carry  him  through  a  long  journey  without  his  falling  off  in 
condition,  or  to  undergo  an  extraordinary  trial  of  speed  and 
game  without  distress.  The  ordinary  cocktail  is  in  most  instances 
a  mere  brute,  that  in  travelling  sinks  daily  in  strength,  losing  his 
appetite,  and,  of  course,  his  flesh  and  action,  so  that  at  the  termi- 
nation of  a  ten  days'  journey  he  is  nearly  knocked  up ;  he  can 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TORTER.  191 

travel  but  about  forty  miles  per  day,  and  requires  the  whole  day 
to  perform  the  distance. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  year  1848,  ]jrobably  not  less  than  six 
thousand  thorough-hred  mares,  and  as  many  more  of  cold  blood, 
were  bred  to  horses  of  pure  pedigree  in  the  United  States.  Out 
of  the  vast  produce  of  these  mares,  not  above  1,500,  if  so  many, 
will  ever  come  upon  the  Turf,  probably,  so  that  more  than  one- 
half  will  eventually  find  their  way  into  harness.  The  colts  of 
good  form,  that  have  plenty  of  bone  and  substance,  w^ill,  of  course, 
oust  the  common  tackles  that  infest  country  taverns,  while  the 
others  will  be  used  for  the  saddle  and  the  road.  The  result  will  be 
that  in  a  few  years  the  stock  now  in  use  will  be  supplanted  by 
horses  of  superior  action,  wind  and  courage,  whose  greater  beauty 
will  not  be  more  apparent  than  their  better  style  of  going  and 
their  imequalled  powers  of  endurance. 

"  The  breeders  of  New  England  and  "Western  New  York  have 
already  became  so  sensible  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  an  infu- 
sion of  '  blood  '  for  the  improvement  of  their  common  stock,  that 
they  will  only  send  their  mares  to  thorough-bred  stallions,  or 
those  which  claim  to  be  so.  Abdallah,  Andrew  Jackson  and 
other  popular  trotting  stallions,  though  not  quite  thorough-bred, 
command  as  high  a  price  in  the  market,  and  for  their  services  in 
the  stud,  as  fashionably  bred  and  distinguished  performers  on  the 
Turf.  A  fine-looking  gelding,  a  son  of  Abdallah,  readily  com- 
mands $500,  while  he  has  several  sons  and  daughters  in  this 
vicinity,  which  can  be  sold  at  auction  for  $2,500  each !  At 
the  New  York  State  Fair  held  at  Albany  in  '42,  there  were 
not  less  than  fifteen  thorough-bred  stallions  exhibited,  some 
of  which  were  remarkably  large,  active  and  handsome.  It 
is  from  such  horses  as  these,  crossed  upon  the  common  mares 
of  the  country,  that  the  superb  '■Northern  Carriage  Horses^ 
are  derived.  We  know  of  nearly  one  hundred  mares  of  most 
fashionable  lineage  which  are  owned  in  this  and  the  Eastern 
States,  which  for  several  years  have  been  breeding  stock  for  the 
road.  To  these  and  such  as  these  is  the  Sporting  World  indebted 
for  its  Lady  Suffblks,  its  Forrests,  its  Rattlers  and  its  Pizarros. 

"  As  a  national  benefit,  it  may  be  asserted  by  some— and  the 


192  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK. 

'  Planter '  would  seem  to  take  this  ground — tliat  we  do  not 
require  that  breed  in  use  for  the  Turf  technically  termed  the 
'  blood  horse.'  To  this  a  familiar  intercourse  with  the  most 
eiuinent  breeders  and  turf-men  of  the  Union,  combined  with  no 
inconsiderable  knowledge  of  horses  and  their  relative  powers, 
authorize  us  to  dissent.  Our  extent  of  country  and  climate  re- 
quire horses  of  great  action  and  durability,  not  encumbered  with 
unnecessary  masses  of  flesh  or  cumbrous  bone,  forming  an  over- 
weight of  carcass.  Our  farmers  in  many  situations  have  a  great 
extent  of  road  to  pass  over,  in  order  to  reach  a  ^narket,  and  that 
too,  upon  ground  often  bound  as  hard  as  marble  by  the  winter's 
frost,  or  parched  dry,  and  rendered  equally  obdurate  by  the  sum- 
mer's sun :  upon  roads  of  this  description,  or  such  as  are  macad- 
amized, (now  coming  into  general  use,)  no  heavy -moulded  animal 
can  for  any  length  of  time  bear  to  be  urged  beyond  a  walk  or 
slow  trot,  without  encountering  much  bodily  distress,  and  per- 
manent injury  of  both  feet  and  limbs.  Nor  are  any,  except  such 
as  possess  a  large  share  of  '  blood,'  equal  in  extreme  warm 
weatlier  to  the  task  of  a  mail  stage,  or  other  duty  where  expedi- 
tion and  continuance  are  required.  The  coarse,  heavy  horse  will 
not  answer  in  a  warm  climate ;  the  varying  face  of  our  country  and 
the  heat  of  our  summer  months  are  ill  adapted  to  him,  and  his  slow, 
tedious  movement  equally  repugnant  to  the  genius  of  our  people. 

"  In  regard  to  selection,  we  cannot  but  recommend  adhering 
as  closely  as  possible  to  such  as  come  nearest  in  pedigree  or 
purity  of  blood,  symmetry,  form,  apparent  strength  and  action, 
to  those  in  use  for  the  Turf,  denominated  '  blood  horses,'  as  most 
adequate  to  long  and  severe  exertion,  under  which  horses  of 
inferior  description  so  frequently  sink  for  want  of  that  constitu- 
tional stamina  and  inherent  fortitude,  that  those  of  high  pedi- 
gree and  pure  '  blood  '  so  eminently  possess. 

"  In  opposition  to  what  we  have  here  set  forth  as  an  estab- 
lished and  incontrovertible  fact,  we  shall  no  doubt  be  told  by 
some,  that  the  '  blood  horse  '  has  not  sufficient  lone  and  strengtli 
for  the  generality  of  business  purposes.  Upon  this  point  we  ask 
leave  to  introduce  a  few  remarks.     This  tcant  of  hone,  so  fashion- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  193 

ably  and  eternally  echoed  and  transmitted  from  one  affected  con- 
noisseur to  another,  without  the  least  knowledge  of  the  external 
conformation  of  the  animal,  or  the  most  distant  idea  that  any 
difference  exists  in  the  strength  of  bones  of  the  same  size,  taken 
from  horses  of  different  breeds,  or  knowing  that  two  bones 
exactly  of  the  same  dimensions,  the  one  appertaining  to  the 
'  blood  horse,'  and  the  other  one  of  the  common  breed,  bear  no 
comparison  in  point  of  either  solidity,  weight,  fibre,  or  strength, 
or  that  the  muscular  and  ligamentous  appendages  of  the  former, 
the  very  source  of  action  and  power,  are  much  larger  and 
stronger  than  those  of  the  latter— that  the  use  of  bones  are  prin- 
cipally to  extend  the  parts  and  support  the  frame— that,  being 
in  themselves  inactive,  the  excess  beyond  what  is  thus  required 
operates  as  dead  weight  to  be  carried  along ;  thus  an  undue  pro- 
portion, in  place  of  being  an  acquisition,  forms  an  encumbrance, 
and  hence  arises  the  folly  which  we  daily  witness  of  selecting 
for  severe  service  horses  over-loaded,  like  cart-horses,  with  this 
same  lony  structure,  whose  undue  weight  and  inactivity  of  parts 
render  them  totally  unfit  for  either  rapidity  of  motion  or  con- 
tinuance. 

"  There  are  some  who  in  their  selections  affect  a  preference 
for  such  as  are  not  of  pure  '  blood,'  but  a  cross  of  the  breed, 
between  the  thorough-bred  and  the  common  horse,  in  England 
technically  termed  '  cocktails,'  and  an  indifference  for  the  posses- 
sion of  those  high-bred  qualifications  which  are  indispensably 
necessary  to  constitute  a  runner ;  while  they  decline  purchas- 
ing, at  any  price,  such  as  are  incapable  of  great  performance  and 
continuance  ;  nor  will  any  other,  at  this  day,  bring  a  price  in  a  city 
market  that  will  defray  the  expense  of  rearing.  "We  ask  such 
connoisseurs,  if  every  good  racer  does  not  possess  these  innate 
qualifications  ?  And  while  we  admit  that  there  are  many  valu- 
able horses  of  the  '  cross-lreecl,''  we  assert  that  they  derive  the 
very  perfections  which  constitute  their  worth,  not  from  the 
parent  stock  of  the  common  horse,  but  solely  from  the  species 
which  we  recommend ;  hence  it  follows,  that  before  we  can 
obtain  even  a  '  cross-breed  '  with  the  necessary  acquirements,  we 
9 


194  LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEE. 

must  be  in  possession  of  parent  stock  having  these  same  requi- 
sites, only  to  be  obtained  from  tlie  '  blood  horse  '  in  his  greatest 
purity. 

"  We  do  not  hesitate  to  assert,  that  '  blood  horses  '  of  proper 
size,  formation,  and  symmetry,  full  fifteen  hands  (five  feet)  and 
upwards  in  height,  of  full  and  just  proportions  and  muscular 
appearance,  bred  from  such  as  are  known  to  possess  constitutional 
stamina  and  fortitude  sufficient  to  enable  them,  when  carrying 
the  weight  of  126  to  140  lbs.,  to  continue  their  rate  for  four 
miles,  and  to  repeat  the  same  distance  after  a  short  interval  of 
thirty  or  forty  minutes,  will  exceed  in  speed,  strength,  or  dura- 
bility, whatever  horses  may  be  brought  against  them,  on  the 
road,  in  the  field,  the  chase,  or  any  service  whatever ;  and 
when  offered  in  market,  either  at  home  or  abroad,  command 
prices  more  than  double  that  of  any  other  class.  How  is  this 
superiority  to  be  tested,  to  enable  us,  with  unerring  certainty, 
to  select  the  best  for  breed  ?  for  among  the  good  there  is  always 
a  preference.  How  has  this  test  been  made,  for  the  last  hundred 
years  and  more,  in  England,  whose  horses  at  this  day  excel  all 
others  on  the  globe  ?  "We  answer  with  confidence,  by  course 
racing,  and  that  only.  Premiums  for  the  production  of  the  best 
and  most  elegant  horses  have  of  late  years  been  given  by  our 
agricultural  societies,  but  without  any  test  of  excellence  or  guid- 
ance, other  than  the  whim  and  caprice  of  those  from  year  to  year 
nominated  to  decide  as  to  the  perfections  or  imperfections  of  a 
medley  of  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine,  among  which  motley 
group  this  noble  animal  has  been  doomed  to  pass  in  review,  and 
to  be  adjudged  and  criticized  upon  by  those  more  conversant  with 
the  bristly  tribe,  and  who  value  things  by  the  weight  and 
bulk  only!  We  would  ask  if  even  this  good  intention  on  the 
part  of  agricultural  societies  produces  any  material  improve- 
ment ?  We  think  not.  We  would  next  call  attention  to  the  high 
prices  which  have  been  paid  to  the  State  of  New  York  by  her 
sister  States,  and  institute  an  inquiry  as  to  the  cause  of  such 
prices  as  $15,000  in  one  case,  $10,000  each  in  two  difterent  in- 
stances, $5,000  each  for  several,  $4,000,  $3,000,  and  $2,000  each 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAJI   T.    PORTEK.  195 

for  many,  $1,500  and  $1,000  for  numbers— $500  is  an  evcry-day 
oifer  for  roadsters — and,  at  this  time,  $2,000  each  has  been 
offered  and  refused  for  two.  Let  candor  say  whether  such  prices 
could  have  been  had,  and  such  sums  realized,  by  a  few  spirited 
breeders,  in  the  State  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  but  for 
the  partial  exemption  from  the  prohibition  of  horse  racing,  which 
the  legislative  body  of  the  former  were  prevailed  upon  to  grant, 
about  the  year  1821,  to  the  favored  county  of  Queens,  Long 
Island.  If,  again,  an  inquiry  is  instituted  as  to  what  particular 
section  of  the  State  produced  those  valuable  animals,  it  will  be 
found  to  be  the  identical  district  or  immediate  vicinity  of  that 
exempted  from  the  penalties  imposed  by  the  otherwise  general 
law  enacted  to  prevent  horse  racing ;  and  the  adjacent  State 
of  New  Jersey,  also  benefited  thereby,  has,  of  late,  totally  re- 
pealed her  prohibitory  statute.  We  would  further  ask,  by  what 
test  the  superiority  and  extraordinary  value  of  these  particular 
horses  was  discovered  ?  The  answer  is  obvious — the  fact  notO" 
rious — course  racing  ! 

"  That  the  excellence  or  superiority  sought  for  can  in  no  way 
be  tested  except  by  actual  trials,  the  most  impartial  and  disiuv 
terested  experiments,  during  a  lapse  of  many  years,  liave  fully 
demonstrated.  For  this  purpose  course  racing  was  originally 
instituted,  and  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  has  been 
adopted  and  pursued  with  unremitting  zeal  in  Great  Britain ; 
where  the  government,  aware  of  its  importance  in  a  national 
sense,  promote  it  by  giving  a  bounty  in  numerous  cases,  under 
the  appellation  of  Queen's  Plates,  yearly  or  semi-annually  run  for 
upon  all  the  principal  courses  in  the  kingdom,  and  in  almost  all 
of  the  British  Colonies.  Thus  encouraged  and  countenanced, 
their  horses,  whether  taken  into  view  for  the  field,  the  road,  or 
the  army,  haye,  from  judicious  selections  for  breeding,  afforded 
by  this  same  test,  arrived  at  q,  state  of  pre-excellence  hitherto 
nnlieard  of,  and  far  surpassing  the  fo.med  Arabian  or  Barbf^ry 
horse,  from  which  they  derive  their  origin.  Witness  the  ever- 
memorable  battle  of  Waterloo,  upon  which  hung  the  fate  of 
Europe,  decided,  in  a  great  measure,  by  the  vast  superiority  of 
the  British  cavalry,  which,  while  it  roused  tlie  fears,  drew  forth 


196  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK. 

the  admiration  of  the  greatest  captain  of  the  age !  '  Regardez 
ces  heaux  cTievaux  gris — quelles  terrible  chevavx  ! '  he  exclaimed, 
as  they  swept  through  his  ranlis.  On  the  other  hand,  take  a 
retrospective  view  of  the  horses  in  the  State  of  New  York  and 
the  adjoining  State  of  New  Jersey,  as  they  were  twenty-five 
years  hack ;  view  the  scanty  sample  of  improvement  made,  or 
permitted  to  he  made,  save  in  a  certain  favored  district  of  New 
York,  contemplate  what  the  whole,  or  rather,  those  in  distant 
parts  of  the  State,  in  all  probabihty,  Avonld  have  been  at  this 
date  but  for  legislative  interference,  and  picture  to  yourself 
what,  in  a  comparative  sense,  they  actually  are.  Compare  the 
superb  steeds  that  carried  dismay  through  Napoleon's  ranks, 
with  the  miserable  louches  our  brave  soldiers  had  to  mount  dur- 
ing either  the  Eevolution  or  the  late  war,  and  what  of  necessity 
our  array  would  be  equipped  with,  were  they  even  at  this  late 
day  compelled  to  take  the  field  !  What  a  contrast !  '  If  I  wished 
to  ruin  a  province,'  said  the  Great  Frederick  of  Prussia,  '  I  would 
send  a  philosopher  to  govern  it.' 

"  We  may  take  occasion  hereafter — though  we  should  much 
prefer  to  leave  the  matter  with  our  numerous  corps  of  intelligent 
correspondents — to  suggest  some  means  for  the  general  revival 
of  the  Sport  of  the  Turf  in  the  North  as  well  as  in  the  Old 
Dominion.  Kacing  cannot  go  down!  The  immense  amount 
of  capital  invested  in  Blood  Stock  in  the  United  States— noi  less 
than  Five  Millions  of  Dollars  ! — absolutely  forh ids  it !  Every 
one  acquainted  with  the  Turf  is  aware  that  a  three-year-old  colt 
like  Eufiin,  The  Colonel,  and  others,  will  command  $5,000  at  any 
moment— that  a  nonpareil  like  Fashion  is  worth  $10,000  (though 
she  would  not  be  parted  with  under  $12,000) — that  a  young 
brood  mare  like  Delphine  is  worth  $3,500  or  more,  and  that  a 
stallion  of  the  pretensions  of  Priam,  Eclipse,  or  Medoc,  in  their 
prime  would  readily  fetch  $15,000,  notwithstanding  '  the  hard 
times.'  Break  up  your  breeding  and  training  establishments  and 
Blue  Dick  would  not  sell  for  $300  !— Grey  Medoo  and  Trustee 
would  be  worth  each,  about  $600  !— Bonnets  o'  Blue  would  com- 
mand at  auction  $100,  possibly! 

"  It  behooves  the  friends  of  the  qood  came  to  give  this  matter 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  197 

their  grave  and  earnest  consideration.  The  sports  of  the  Turf, 
like  every  thing  else,  have  been  seriously  affected  by  the  monetary 
reverses  of  the  country.  But  we  have  now,  we  trust,  seen  the 
worst,  so  that  '  things  must  mend.'  Already  business  and  confi- 
dence are  reviving  throughout  the  Union.  "With  the  steady 
advance  in  the  price  of  real  estate,  and  the  great  staples  of  the 
country,  that  of  Blood  Stock  should  keep  pace.  '  A  long  pull, 
a  strong  pull,  and  a  pull  altogether,'  by  the  parties  interested, 
will  effect  so  desirable  an  object.  Will  they  unite  with  us,  and 
put  their  shoulders  to  the  wheel  ?  " 

The  number  of  subscribers  was  never  larger  than 
in  1847,  and  the  correspondents  of  the  paper  had 
increased  fortj-fold.  Instead  of  the  usual  array  of 
literary  articles  from  the  British  magazines,  which 
had  so  long  enriched  its  columns,  the  editor  substi- 
tuted original  sketches  and  letters  written  expressly 
for  the  "  Spirit,"  giving  a  preference  to  those  which 
were  thoroughly  American,  and  presenting  the  pecu- 
liar characteristics  and  illustrating  scenes  and  inci- 
dents of  the  "  Universal  Yankee  nation,"  from  the 
St.  Lawrence  to  the  Rio  Grande. 

The  officers  of  the  army,  and  the  same  remark 
will  apply  to  those  of  the  navy,  not  only  liberally  con- 
tributed to  the  "  Spirit,"  and  gave  it  the  material  aid 
of  a  very  general  subscription,  but  also  from  their 
strong  personal  attachment  to  the  Editor,  forwarded  to 
him  all  manner  of  curiosities,  both  natural  and  arti- 
ficial, which  were  obtained  by  them  in  their  expedi- 
tions, so  that  his  "  Curiosity  Shop,"  as  he  called  it, 
had  a  "  charm,"  which  would  well  compare  with  that 
in  the  Witches'  Caldron,  in  Macbeth  : 


198  LIFE   OF   AVILLIAM   T.    PORTEK. 

"  Eye  of  newt,  and  toe  of  frog, 
Wool  of  bat,  and  tongue  of  dog, 
Adder's  fork,  and  blind-worm's  sting, 
Lizard's  leg,  and  owlet's  wing." 

One  of  liis  gallant  friends  presented  to  him  a  pair 
of  South  American  or  Mexican  stirrups ;  the  editor 
writes  of  them : 

"  They  were  of  wood,  and  weighed  about  five  pounds  each ! 
elaborately  carved  on  three  sides ;  the  foot  cannot  project 
through  them,  and  no  one  could  imagine  for  what  possible  pur- 
pose they  were  intended,  unless  informed.  They  no  more  resem- 
ble an  American  stirrup  than  does  a  chest  of  drawers  a  coal 
scuttle,  a  bet  on  the  Presidential  election,  or  any  thing  else  in 
which  a  man  has  a  chance  '  to  put  his  foot  in  it ! '  " 

From  the  great  variety  of  queer  things  ■vrhicli  the 
thoughtfulness  of  familiar  friends  heaped  upon  him, 
he  selects  the  names  of  a  few,  and  thus  acknowledges 
tlie  receijit  of  Sherred  Lidia  Eubber  Pantaloons,  that 
were  warranted  to  stretch  to  the  crack  of  doom ;  a 
pair  of  Saxon  Wool  Socks,  knit  expressly  for  him  by 
the  industrious  wife  of  a  Mississippi  planter  ;  colored 
maps  of  the  battles  in  Mexico ;  a  superb  collection 
of  artificial  flies  ;  Limerick  hooks  ;  a  dozen  "  drop- 
pers ; "  an  assortment  of  colored  gut  "  leaders  ; "  a  har- 
poon and  lance,  used  in  the  whale  fishery ;  the  head 
of  a  pike,  which,  when  dressed,  weighed  twenty-two 
pounds  ;  a  dozen  cane  fishing-rods  from  South  Caro- 
lina ;  the  skin  of  an  enormous  bear ;  half  a  dozen 
skins  of  the  White  Fox  and  Hare  of  Newfoundland  ; 
the  white  partridge  from  Nova  Scotia ;   a  tandem 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  199 

whip  ;  tlie  skin  of  an  immense  Pelican,  from  C.  D. 
Bunce,  Esq.,  of  1^.  O.  ;  colored  engravings  of  the 
Eevolutionary  scenes  of  Paris,  from  G.  W.  Kendall, 
Esq. ;  a  sash  worn  by  the  late  Capt.  S.  H.  Walker, 
of  the  Texas  Kangers,  who  was  killed  in  Mexico,  from 
Lt.  Stonehall  of  the  U.  S.  E.  Service ;  and  lastly,  a 
snake  from  Korth  Carolina  with  "  thirty-one  rattles 
besides  the  bntton;"  "this  pleasant  musical  box," 
says  the  Editor,  "  being  seven  inches  in  length." 

In  this  connection,  though  not  in  chronological 
order,  we  insert  his  acknowledgment  of  a  "  service 
of  plate  "  and  other  articles  of  value,  which  is  in  his 
own  peculiar  and  quiet  style  of  humor  : 

PRESENTATION  OF  PLATE  TO  THE  EDITOR. 

"  The  Editor  of  the  '  Spirit  of  the  Times '  begs  leave  to  offer 
his  acknowledgments  to  his  friends  in  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Mis- 
sissippi, Kentucky,  Virginia,  and  New  Jersey,  for  their  very 
acceptable  present  of  a  '  Service  of  Plate  '—or  rather  of  '  Plates,' 
which  'have  done  the  State  some  service.'  Connoisseurs  in 
antique  gold  or  silver  Plate  may  call  our  taste  in  question,  as 
may  the  admirers  of  fine  Engravings,  but  we,  notwithstanding, 
take  occasion  to  express  the  belief  that  no  specimen  of  the 
Fine  Arts,  nor  of  the  Goldsmiths'  art,  will  for  an  instant  sustain 
a  comparison  with  the  pieces  of  Plate  presented  us  as  a  mark 
of  the  distinguished  consideration  of  the  donors.  Be  it  known, 
then,  that  the  '  Plates '  presented  us  are  of  neither  gold  nor  silver 
—neither  draughts  nor  drawings,  but  the  '  Plates,'  or  '  pumps  ' 
worn  by  High-Mettled  Piacers  in  their  exhibitions  of  game  and 
speed,  in  place  of  shoes  ! 

"We  have  received  two  of  those  w^orn  by  Mr.  Gibbons' 
Fashmi,  the  Champion  of  the  American  Turf,  in  her  great  match 
with  Long  and  Johnson's  Boston^  and  two  also  of  those  worn 


200  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE. 

by  him  on  the  same  memorable  occasion.  One  of  each  is  in- 
tended for  tlie  editor  of  '  Bell's  Life  in  London,'  after  they  shall 
have  been  properly  set  and  lettered,  with  the  number  of  races 
run  by  the  rival  champions  of  the  The  North  and  The  South. 
The  time  of  '  The  best  race  ever  run  in  America  ' — 7.32^ — 7.45 — 
will  not  be  omitted. 

"  We  have  also  received  one  of  the  plates  worn  by  Mr.  Bos- 
well's  Jim  Bell  of  Kentucky,  and  one  of  those  worn  by  Col. 
Bingaman's  Sarah  Bladen  of  Mississippi,  when  they  ran  four- 
mile  heats  at  New  Orleans,  in  7.37 — 7.40 ! 

"  We  also  have  one  of  those  worn  by  Mr.  Baird's  Miss  Foote 
of  Alabama,  when  she  beat  Earl  of  Margrave,  Hannah  Harris, 
and  Luda,  in  8.02—7.35  ! 

"  Also  one  of  those  worn  by  Mr.  Wells'  Eeel  of  Louisiana, 
when  she  beat  Luda  and  John  E.  Grymes,  in  7.40 — 7.43 ! 

"  The  above,  added  to  one  worn  by  Messrs.  Kennee's  Grey 
Medoc^  of  Louisiana,  in  his  race  beating  Altorf  and  Denizen,  in 
7.35—8.19—7.42—8.17,  makes  our  'Service  of  Plate '  sufficiently 
complete  for  the  accommodation  of  '  a  pleasant  party,'  which  in 
immber  should  not  be  less  than  the  Graces  nor  more  than  the 
Muses  !  This  '  j^late  '  of  ours  is  of  a  description  of  '  ware  '  that 
will  not  readily  loear  out!  Lideed,  it  has  seen  service  already, 
and  has  withstood  a  deal  of  '  loear  and  tear  ! '  Those  of  Boston 
and  Fashion  especially,  have  received  some  hard  knocks,  and  in 
size,  as  compared  with  those  worn  by  Miss  Foote  and  Reel,  they 
are  as  '  fish  dishes  '  to  '  dessert  plates.'  In  weight  one  of  Fash- 
ion's plates  exceeds  that  of  Jim  Bell  and  Eeel  added  together. 
Sarah  Bladen  has  the  largest  foot,  and  Miss  Foote  the  smallest ; 
the  Tatter's  plate  weighs  exactly  one  ounce!  The  plates  of 
Fashion  and  Boston  are  of  the  same  size ;  for  a  fore  and  hind 
foot  they  weigh  five  ounces." 

Again,  lie  writes : 

"  We  have  to  acknowledge  this  week  the  receipt  of  an  addi- 
tion to  our  collection  of  Sporting  Curiosities  of  extraordinary 
interest.     We  are  indebted  for  it  to  Mr.  Gilbeet  W.  Tateick 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  201 

of  this  city,  better  known  to  the  Sporting  World  as  '  Oil  Patrick^ 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  jockeys  that  has  figured  on  the 
American  Turf.  '  Gil '  has  given  us  nothing  less  than  one  of  his 
steel-plated  Spun^  which  he  wore  constantly  from  the  time  he 
rode  Post  Boy  in  his  match  with  Bascombe  in  1836,  up  to  the 
day  when  he  rode  Boston  in  his  match  with  Fashion !  It  will 
be  recollected  that  on  the  last  occasion  Gil  rode  the  gallant 
veteran  with  a  single  spur ;  that  identical  Spur  is  before  us  as 
we  pen  this  paragraph ;  it  has  not  been  worn  since,  its  mate 
having  been  lost.  The  rowel  is  still  discolored  with  the  blood 
and  sweat  of  old  Boston,  and  there  are  half  a  dozen  short  chestnut 
hairs  attached  to  its  point,  each  one  as  precious  in  our  eyes  as 
those  Benedick  offered  to  bring  '  from  the  Great  Kham's  beard.' 
How  much  '  claret '  has  Gil  '  tapped '  with  this  little  instrument, 
and  how  many  glossy  sides  has  he  '  tickled  '  with  it,  between  '36 
and  '42 !  What  shouts  have  been  raised,  what  enthusiasm  ex- 
cited, what  fortunes  won  and  lost,  what  '  vast  renown  '  achieved, 
by  '  the  still  small  voice  '  of  this  '  eloquent  persuader  ' !  Omega, 
Blue  Dick,  Santa  Anna,  and  Argyle,  have  made  some  of  their 
most  brilliant  races  under  the  magic  touch  of  Gil's  heel  when 
armed  with  this  ounce  of  steel.  Though  he  may  never  have  felt 
its  ticlding.  Monarch  for  two  seasons  was  on  intimate  terms  with 
it,  while  Atalanta  and  Emily,  Rocker  and  Blacknose,  Lord  of 
Lorn  and  Treasurei-,  must  have  retained  for  some  time  a  keen 
sense  of  Gil's  use  of  it.  Wonder  and  Fordham,  with  Charlotte 
Eusse,  Zenobia,  and  many  more,  were  no  little  indebted  to  it  for 
the  character  they  maintained  on  the  Turf.  Armed  with  this 
little  spur,  GU.  '  won  golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of  people,' 
and  we  regard  it,  as  do  many  who  have  seen  it,  as  one  of  the 
most  interesting  articles  in  our  collection." 

Mr.  Porter  was  solicited  to  make  a  compilation  of 
liumoroiis  articles  from  the  "  Spirit,"  and  having  con- 
sented, he  published  "  The  Big  Bear  in  Arkansas  " 
and  other  sketches,  illustrative  of  characters  and  inci- 
dents in  the  South  and  West,  illustrated  by  Darlej. 
9* 


202  LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T,    POKTEK. 

The  volume  contained  twenty-one  sketches  or  stories, 
not  unworthy  of  Hood  or  Dickens,  and  met  with  a 
rapid  sale,  as  a  capital  specimen  of  amusing  narratives 
and  vivid  descriptions.  Besides  this  addition  to  his 
ordinary  labors,  in  1846  he  edited  the  English  work, 
"  Guns  and  Shooting,"  by  Col.  Hawker  ;  how  faith- 
fully he  accomplished  it  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  out  of  four  hundred  and  fifty -nine  pages,  two 
hundred  were  American  and  original.  It  was  the 
first  purely  sporting  work  ever  published  in  the  United 
States,  and  was  in  every  respect  a  well-executed 
manual  for  the  sportsman ;  by  universal  consent,  it 
was  considered  as  conferring  infinite  credit  on  the 
editor. 

As  Mr.  Porter  felt  a  deep  symj)athy  for  the  friends 
of  manly  recreation,  he  watched  with  lively  interest 
the  organization  of  a  Yacht  Club  in  New  York, 
chronicled  its  movements,  and  frequently  acknowl- 
edged the  great  pleasure  he  had  received  from  the 
civilities  and  consideration  which  it  had  extended  to 
him.  We  well  know  that  he  loved  to  "  wet  a  line," 
bufdoubt  if  he  ever  fancied  a  "  wet  jacket  "  on  board 
any  kind  of  craft.  In  one  of  his  papers,  he  gave  an 
animated  picture  of  the  Annual  Kegatta  of  the  Club, 
which  he  closed  with  this  playful  remark  :  "  It  is  all 
very  well,  this  talk  about  Demosthenes  and  Cicero, 
but  the  ancients  never  heard  Mr.  Blunt  when  present- 
ing a  Cup  to  the  "winner  of  a  New  York  Yacht  Club 
Regatta,  nor  his  response."  At  the  next  race,  each 
yacht  was  to  be  manned  exclusively  by  members  of 
the  Club 


LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  203 

Mr.  Porter,  "  will  be  nothing  to  this  in  excitement.  If 
we  could  not  wade  out  or  swim  anywhere  where  it  is 
moist,  we  should  immediately  order  a  life-preserver !  " 
Akin  to  this  interest  in  sports  connected  with  phys- 
ical training  was  his  prompt  support  of  all  rational 
amusement ;  and  though  not  a  constant  or  ardent  play- 
goer, he  was  from  the  start  a  discriminating  friend 
of  the  Drama ;  the  following  article  is  proof  of  his 
appreciation  of  the  stage  and  solicitude  for  the  comfort 
of  those  who  gave  it  attractiveness  and  character : 

"J.  Theatrical  Fund  Association. — Altliough  for  the  last 
few  years  the  genius  of  invention,  that  characteristic  of  the 
American  nation,  seems  to  have  expended  itself  in  the  creation 
of  charitable  associations — in  a  popular  display  of  individual 
sympathy,  still  it  is  remarkable  that  we  have  but  few  institutions 
of  a  definite  and  beneficial  nature.  While  we  have  zealously 
organized  philanthropic  combinations  of  every  imaginable  species, 
we  appear  to  have  forgotten  to  provide  for  those  of  our  fellow- 
beings,  whose  professions  are  of  the  more  elevated  order  of  life — 
more  especially  the  followers  of  Literature  and  the  Drama. 
With  commendable  exertions  we  act  as  guardians  to  the  tem- 
poral welfare  of  every  aspirant  to  mendicity,  and,  with  a  like 
zeal,  we  take  charge  of  the  spiintual  concerns  of  every  afilicted 
member  in  our  community,  and,  while  all  these  things  are  pub- 
licly applauded,  we  omit  a  consideration  of  the  sufferings  of 
another  class  of  fellow-men.  The  very  life  of  the  actor,  subject 
to  the  whims  and  oddities  of  the  public  taste,  the  foibles  and 
follies  of  vulgar  prejudices,  renders  him  in  a  great  degree  depend- 
ent not  only  on  his  own  exertions,  but  on  the  benevolence  of  the 
community.  The  stage  may  be,  with  justice,  termed  the  charnel- 
house  of  intellect — the  crypt  wherein  are  annually  buried 
many  bright  and  aspiring  minds,  enticed  from  the  walks  of 
every-day  life  by  the  pomp  and  glitter  of  a  scenic  world.  We 
gaze  with  rapture  on  the  actions  of  the  actor — the  minister 


204  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    rOKTEK. 

of  our  happiest  pleasures,  and  little  do  we  dream  of  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  inward  life  of  him,  whose  external  aspect  is  so  in- 
viting. If  we  look  at  the  biographies  of  any  of  those  who  have 
from  time  to  time  swayed  the  sceptre  of  the  theatrical  monarchy 
— Garrick,  Kean,  Moliere  or  Talma — we  always  find  them 
keenly  alive  to  the  afflictions  and  necessities  of  their  comrades — 
the  flickering  and  uncertain  careers  of  their  associates.  With- 
out doubt  these  considerations,  based  on  the  hardship  of  their 
early  existence — their  toil  and  labors  to  attain  their  subsequent 
reputation,  induced  Garrick  and  Moliere  to  urge  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Drury  Lane  fund,  and  that  of  the  Comedie  Fran- 
caise.  The  self-same  causes  which  led  to  the  institution  of  these 
associations  in  England  and  France,  exist,  in  a  greater  degree,  in 
our  country,  and  therefore  we  would  deem  the  establishment  of 
similar  funds  not  only  as  an  act  of  justice,  but  of  absolute  neces- 
sity. We  have  no  doubt  but  that,  in  the  furtherance  of  a 
national  dramatic  fund,  the  many  eminent  tragedians,  comedians, 
and  vocalists  now  in  the  Union  would  be  happy  to  contribute 
their  aid,  and  for  the  consimimation  of  this  wholesome  charity, 
the  public  will  never  be  remiss  in  seconding  the  efforts  of  a  few 
leading  men.  The  first  movement  must,  as  a  matter  of  necessity, 
come  from  the  actors  themselves ;  to  their  listlessness  can  be 
alone  attributed  the  non-success  of  prior  schemes ;  it  is  for  them 
to  digest  and  arrange  the  mode  of  operation  of  the  society,  as 
being  far  better  qualified  to  judge  of  the  wants  of  a  theatrical 
community,  than  those  who  have  never  entered  within  the 
precincts  of  the  actor's  world.  When  once  firmly  instituted  on  a 
liberal  basis,  one  neither  too  diffuse  nor  too  exclusive,  we  can 
assure  them  of  a  response  on  the  part  of  the  public.  Of  the 
success  of  such  a  fund  we  are  sanguine,  as  benefiting  not  only 
the  actor,  but  the  di*ama  in  all  its  manifold  branches." 

Witliin  something  like  a  twelvemontli,  death  had 
deprived  Mr.  Porter  of  some  of  his  most  distinguished 
friends  and  safe  counsellors.  Among  them  was  Judge 
Duval,  of  Maryland,  whose  familiarity  with  the  Turf 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAItl   T.    POKTEK.  205 

for  more  than  forty  years  was  only  eqnalled  by  his 
accurate  knowledge  of  Jurisprudence.  His  death 
was  followed  by  that  of  John  Boardman,  Esq.,  of 
Alabama,  whose  valuable  essays  on  breeding,  train- 
ing, and  other  kindred  topics,  contributed  to  the  in- 
terest and  usefulness  of  the  "  Spirit"  and  "  Eegister," 
and  were  republished  in  England  with  signal  com- 
mendation.    The Hon.  Alexander  Porter  was  the 

next  honored  friend  whose  loss  he  deplored  most 
acutely ;  then  succeeded  that  of  Henry  Inman,  one 
of  his  best  and  choicest  friends,  on  the  24th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1846  ;  they  were  very  diflerently  organized,  yet 
had  many  kindred  tastes,  and  for  years  were  united 
by  a  strong  brotherly  attachment,  which  death  only 
could  break  asunder.  Mr.  Porter  thus  feelingly  la- 
ments the  event : 

"  A  great  and  good  man  lias  sunk  to  rest — one  wlio  lias  illus- 
trated the  genius  of  liis  country  by  the  most  imperishable  monu- 
ments. Henry  Inman  is  no  more !  Rarely  gifted  as  be  was  by 
nature,  bis  acquirements  were  of  such  a  character,  that  he  would 
have  ennobled  any  station  to  which  he  might  have  been  called, 
or  graced  any  circle  into  which  his  enthusiastic  and  lofty  im- 
pulses might  have  thrown  him.  This  is  not  the  time  to  write 
his  epitaph ;  eminently  appreciated  as  he  was  by  his  country- 
men generally,  not  to  speak  of  the  almost  idolatrous  regard  enter- 
tained for  him  by  all  those  who  came  within  the  range  of  his 
personal  acquaintance  and  intercourse,  yet  not  until  his  memory 
is  hallowed  by  time,  and  we  are  made  fully  to  realize  the  loss  we 
have  sustained,  can  ample  justice  be  done  to  his  genius,  his  char- 
acter, and  undying  fame. 

"  Eminent  as  was  the  position  he  enjoyed  as  an  artist,  and 
proud  as  his  friends  were  of  the  universal  homage  paid  to  his 
surpassing  merit  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  by  '  mouths  of 


206  Lli^E   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

wisest  censure,'  yet  as  a  friend,  a  poet,  and  as  a  scholar,  was  he 
most  endeared  to  those  who  enjoyed  the  unqualified  pleasure 
of  his  companionship.  His  scholastic  attainments  were  of  the 
very  highest  order,  and  though  he  indulged  in  literary  pursuits, 
rather  as  a  relief  to  his  mind  than  for  any  settled  purpose,  yet 
he  has  left  behind  him  many  fugitive  sketches  in  prose  and  verse 
that  will  endure  through  all  time.  His  intellect  was  not  only 
highly  cultivated,  biit  his  knowledge  was  vast,  and  his  brilliant 
imagination  so  teemed  with  images  of  grandeur  and  beauty, 
that  his  conversational  powers  surpassed  those  of  any  man  we 
ever  met ;  yet  was  he  as  guileless  and  simple  as  a  child.  If  he 
excelled  supereminently  in  any  thing  beyond  his  art,  we  are  not 
sure  but  we  should  give  the  palm  to  his  epistolary  correspond- 
ence ;  and  when  the  time  arrives — as  it  inevitably  will — when 
'■I  have  a  j^ainting  <?/Inman's!  '  will  be  no  common  boast,  how 
much  more  dearly  cherished  will  be  the  mementos  of  his  unalter- 
able friendship  and  regard ! 

"  Next  to  his  devotion  to  his  friends  and  his  art,  was  Inman's 
fondness  for  Field  Sports.  In  trout-tishing,  especially,  he  ex- 
celled ;  as  in  the  case  of  Prof.  AVilson  and  other  kindred  spirits, 
this  was  emphatically  his  hobby.  And  a  more  ardent,  accom- 
plished or  delightful  disciple,  good  old  Izaak  Walton  never  had. 
In  throwing  a  fly  or  spinning  a  minnow,  he  had  few  equals, 

"  But  alas !  '  Where  be  your  gibes  now  ?  your  gambols  ? 
your  songs  ?  your  flashes  of  merriment,  that  were  wont  to  set 
the  table  in  a  roar  ? '  On  Tuesday  last  the  grave  closed  over  the 
remains  of  the  illustrious  dead.  He  yielded  up  his  spirit  to  the 
God  who  gave  it,  on  the  previous  Saturday  at  noon,  in  his  forty- 
fifth  year,  after  taking  a  final  leave  of  his  bereaved  family 
and  friends.  He  appeared  to  be  perfectly  aware  for  some  time 
previous  of  his  approaching  dissolution.  On  giving  the  last  touch 
to  his  '  October  Afternoon ' — a  painting  finished  during  the 
month  of  October  past,  and  which  was  almost  his  last  production 
— he  remarked  that  he  had  painted  his  last  picture  !  A  mutual 
friend,  in  paying  a  feeble  tribute  to  his  memory,  truthfully  re- 
marks that  'Earely  does  there  pass  away  from  earth  a  man 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  207 

whose  life  more  endccared  him  to  those  who  knew  him,  than 
Inman.  He  had  all  the  qualities  which  go  to  the  making  up  of 
a  true  man :  and  so  genial  was  his  chai-acter ;  so  full  of  every- 
thing which  could  qualify  a  companion  and  foi'm  a  friend ;  so 
ahounding  was  his  eloquent  conversation  with  the  riches  of  a 
cultivated  and  well-stored  mind,  with  suggestive  philosophy, 
sparkling  wit,  genuiue  humor,  and  illustrative  anecdote ;  so 
keenly  did  he  enjoy  life  and  life's  hlessings,  and  the  many  friends 
that  enjoyed  it  too,  and  the  more  for  his  companionship — and  all 
this,  too,  while  Disease  was  weighing  him  down  with  her  heavy, 
crushing  hand, — that  we  could  hardly  realize  the  fact  of  his  being 
destined  to  an  early  grave.  Yet  now  we  feel  it,  keenly  feel  it, 
true.  *****  jje  j^^s  gone  in  and  out  among  the  wide 
circle  of  his  friends  and  acquaintances,  for  many  years  laying  up 
stores  of  future  association  with  his  memory,  and  rearing  all  the 
while  a  beautiful  and  enduring  monument  of  his  excelling 
genius.  To  few  in  our  country,  in  their  own  lifetime,  has  Fame 
sounded  a  clearer  and  more  assuring  pajan  than  that  which  she 
has  breathed  over  the  easel  of  Inman.  He  was  one  of  the  elect 
of  Genius,  to  whom  was  vouchsafed  the  glorious  vision  of  his 
own  immortality. 

"  Henry  Inman  was  born  at  Utica,  in  this  State,  (of  which 
his  father  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers,)  but  had  long  made  this 
city  his  place  of  residence  ;  he  died  of  disease  of  the  heart,  an 
event  which,  for  months,  we  have  trembled  with  the  assured 
apprehension  of  being  called  upon  to  record,  and  yet  so  appalling 
to  us  is  it  that  we  can  hardly  do  more  than  write  the  sad  and 
simple  fact.  His  taste  for  art  began  to  develop  itself  in  boy- 
hood, and  we  are  informed  by  a  contemporary  that  '  notwith- 
standing he  received  a  commission  to  enter  the  Military  Academy 
at  West  Point,  he  evinced  so  unequivocal  a  bent  for  the  pro- 
fession in  which  he  has  since  become  so  eminent,  that  his  father 
placed  him  in  New  York  under  the  tuition  of  the  elder  Jaevis. 
The  young  artist  soon  rose  to  that  position  due  to  his  talents  and 
assiduity.  Some  of  his  first  paintings  were  made  in  Albany, 
and  are  in  possession  of  her  citizens.'  About  a  year  since,  Mr. 
Inman  sailed  for  Europe,  where  he  spent  ten  months.     During 


208         LIFE  OF  WILLIAM  T.  POKTEK. 

this  time  he  paiated  portraits  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  Wordsworth, 
Macaulay,  and  Lord  Cotttnham — a  sketch  of  Rydal  Water,  near 
Wordsworth's  residence — one  equally  beautiful  of  a  salmon-fishing 
scene  in  Scotland,  and  several  others.  His  portraits,  by  which, 
perhaps,  like  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  he  will  be  longest  known, 
comprise  those  of  the  highest  dignitaries  of  the  State  and  city 
governments,  the  most  distinguished  ornaments  of  the  bench,  the 
bar,  the  pulpit,  etc.  llis  portraits  of  Bishops  llobart,  Moore, 
and  Doane,  of  Mrs.  Gen.  Hampton,  and  others,  are  perfect  gems, 
while  those  of  several  of  the  Mayors  of  this  city,  and  the  Gov- 
ornors  of  the  State,  and  of  a  great  number  of  distinguished  citi- 
zens of  this  and  other  States,  must  now  be  regarded  as  almost 
priceless. 

"  Mr.  Inman  has  left  a  wife  and  five  children.  His  eldest  son, 
JoHif  Inman,  Jr., — a  youth  of  seventeen, — is  rarely  endowed. 
For  some  years  he  has  practised  drawing  under  the  eye  of  his 
father,  and  has  lately  produced  several  pictures  in  oil  that  prove 
him  not  unworthy  to  sit  at  his  father's  easel.  As  upon  the  occa- 
sion of  the  demise  of  the  late  lamented  Wasuington  Alston,  we 
beg  to  suggest  that  the  Academy  of  Design,  supported  by  the 
thousand  friends  of  the  deceased,  his  brother  artists,  and  his 
fellow-citizens  generally,  open  an  Inman  Gallery  for  the  exhibi- 
tion of  his  pictures,  and  the  sale  of  such  drawings,  sketches,  etc., 
as  he  has  left  behind  him,  for  the  benefit  of  his  family.  All  are 
ready  to  move  in  the  good  work,  and  only  await  the  suggestion 
of  the  most  feasible  and  appropriate  plan  of  accomplishing  it." 


Two  years  before  Mr.  Inmaii's  death,  just  before 
sailing  for  Europe  in  1844,  lie  made  a  sketeli  of  Mr. 
Porter,  an  engraved  copy  of  wbicli  accompanies  tliis 
volume.  The  likeness  is  admirably  preserved,  while 
the  head  is  idealized  in  the  true  spirit  of  genius.  All 
that  gave  individual  mark  to  the  outer  man,  or  genial 
warmth  to  the  inner  dwelling  of  his  loving  spirit,  is 
liere  faithfully  portrayed.     The  more  it  is  dwelt  upon, 


LIFE    OF   WILLIAM   T,    POKTER.  201) 

the  more  it  strengthens  in  living  sweetness  of  expres- 
sion, until  we  can  scarcely  believe  that  his  "  smile  of 
perpetual  sunshine  "  is  among  the  joys  of  the  past ! 
The  next  week  Mr.  Porter  writes : 

"  It  is  with  melancholy  pleasxu-e  that  we  are  enabled  to  an- 
nounce the  adoption  of  a  plan  in  aid  of  the  family  of  the 
departed  Inman.  The  plan  thought  most  feasible,  and  likely 
in  its  results  to  be  productive  of  most  benefit,  is  that  sug- 
gested in  our  article  of  last  week,  and  which  was  proposed 
and  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Design,  held  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  the  matter  into  consideration.  It  em- 
braces the  formation  of  a  gallery,  to  be  composed  of  the  dif- 
ferent pictures  painted  by  Inman,  and  collected  from  all  attain- 
able sources,  and  its  exhibition  at  some  appropriate  place,  the 
proceeds  to  be  devoted  to  the  ulterior  object  in  view.  The 
exhibition  will  be  opened  during  the  ensuing  week." 

A  numerous  committee  took  the  matter  in  hand, 
and  the  Inman  Gallery  was  opened.  It  contained  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  paintings,  sketches,  and  draw- 
ings of  the  artist — many  portraits  tendered  by  the 
owners  being  reluctantly  declined  for  want  of  room 
in  the  "  Art  Union,"  where  the  collection  was 
exhibited.  It  was  a  most  successful  enterprise,  and 
made  glad  the  heart  of  the  beloved  friend  who  sug- 
gested it. 

During  the  year  there  was  a  large  accession  of 
subscribers  to  the  "  Spirit "  in  various  parts  of  the 
country,  including  a  valuable  roll  of  the  names  of 
officers  in  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  many  of 
whom  were  contributors  to  its  columns  ;  indeed,  there 
was  scarcely  a  military  post  which  had  not  its  bril- 


210  LIFE   OF   WILLIA3I  T.    PORTER. 

liaiit  writer  for  a  paper  wliicli  was  a  universal  and 
favored  guest  wherever  tlie  flag  of  the  Union  floated. 
G  *  *  de  L  *  *,  whose  letters  to  the  "  Spirit "  were 
considered  the  most  graphic  and  animating  from  the 
army  during  the  war  with  Mexico,  and  which  were 
republished  in  half  the  papers  of  the  day,  was  Capt. 
"VV.  Seton  Henry,  of  the  3d  U.  S.  Infantry.  He  was 
in  the  battles  of  Palo  Alto,  Kesaca  de  la  Palma,  Mon- 
terey and  Yera  Cruz,  in  all  of  which  his  regiment 
was  on  the  most  perilous  ridge  of  battle.  It  was  said 
of  this  gallant  officer,  not  now  living,  "  He  fights  as 
well  as  any  man,  and  writes  as  well  as  he  fights." 


CHAPTER   YIII. 

ANGLING. 

It  is  but  justice  to  Mr.  Porter  as  an  angler,  that 
his  hints  and  suggestions  upon  his  favorite  source  of 
recreation  should  be  kept  alive ;  especially  as  they 
contain  more  unconscious  displays  of  the  man  than 
can  be  found  in  any  of  his  other  wiitings. 

He  was  esteemed  master  of  the  higher  art  of 
trout-fishing,  and  to  his  unrivalled  dexterity  and  grace 
in  throwing  a  line,  he  added  a  thorough  theoretical 
knowledge  of  his  favorite  department,  as  well  as  a  prac- 
tical familiarity  with  all  its  details.  So  long  as  this 
exhilarating  sport  shall  be  enjoyed  either  as  an  occa- 
sional pastime  or  as  a  "  grand  and  expansive  passion  " 
by  the  over-tasked  statesman,  the  hard-worked  scholar, 
the  naturalist,  the  inbred  sportsman,  or  a  single  faith- 
ful pupil  of  the  Walton  school,  in  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  sporting-grounds  of  America,  so  long 
will  Mr.  Porter's  practical  hints  be  read  with  advan- 
tage, and  his  name  be  breathed  softly  and  afi'ection- 


212  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

ately  by  those  lovers  of  the  angle,  who  in  coming 
time  will  only  know  him  as  he  is  connected  with  this 
chapter. 

IS^o  book  ever  made  him  a  practical  angler.  Old 
Dame  Mature,  who  is  supposed  by  many  to  have  been 
bom  several  years  previous  to  the  birth  of  Mascall,  or 
Taverncr,  or  Markham,  or  old  Izaak  Walton,  directed 
him  at  a  very  tender  age  to  the  asylum  of  some  of 
her  wriggling  family  in  the  vicinity  of  the  kitchen 
spout,  and  gave  him  a  realizing  sense  of  their  value 
in  connection  with  a  crooked  pin,  a  tow  string,  and 
willow  rod.  From  the  eventful  moment  which  wit- 
nessed his  first  breathless  but  successful  experiment 
with  these  unsophisticated  forces  to  land  a  gigantic 
chub  from  one  of  the  crystal  brooks  of  Newbury,  it 
was  "  all  go "  with  him  for  the  remainder  of  his 
mortal  time  up  to  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  death. 
Though  his  duties  pressed  almost  exclusively  upon 
his  time  during  his  laborious  manhood,  he  generally 
contrived  to  find  leisure  to  steal  away  in  the  ripest 
glow  of  the  hot  months  with  a  party  of  brother  anglers, 
to  some  distant  fishing-ground,  or  to  stray  oif  to  Long 
Island  alone,  for  the  enjoyment  of  his  favorite  sport. 
In  writing  of  Kendall's  Santa  Fe  Exj)edition,  he  says : 
"  No  man  ever  truly  polished  a  book  unless  he  were 
something  of  an  angler,  or  at  least  loved  the  occupation. 
He  who  steals  from  the  haunts  of  men  into  the  green 
solitudes  of  nature,  by  the  banks  of  gliding,  silvery 
streams,  under  the  checkering  lights  of  sun,  leaf  and 
cloud,  may  always  hope  to  cast  his  lines,  whether  of 
the  rod  or  the  '  record-book,'  in  pleasant  places." 


LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  213 


TROUT-FISHING    ON    LONG    ISLAND. 

"  Of  all  sports  ever  sported,  commend  me  to  an- 
gling. It  is  the  wisest,  virtuousest,  discreetest,  best ; 
the  safest,  cheapest,  and  in  all  likelihood,  the  oldest 
of  pastimes.  It  is  a  one-handed  game,  that  would 
have  suited  Adam  himself;  it  was  the  only  one  by 
which  ISToali  could  have  amused  liimelf  in  the  ark. 
Hunting  and  shooting  come  in  second  and  third. 
The  common  phrase,  '  Fish,  flesh,  and  fowl,'  hints 
clearly  at  this  order  of  precedence.  *  *  *  To 
refer  to  my  own  experience,  I  certainly  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  angling-rod  next  after  the  birchen 
one,  and  long  before  I  had  any  practical  knowledge 
of  '  Nimrod  '  or  '  Kamrod.'  *  *  *  The  truth  is. 
Angling  comes  by  nature.  It  is  in  the  system^  as  the 
doctors  say.  Plenty  of  children  are  born  with  water 
in  the  head  ;  but  whoever  heard  of  a  boy  coming 
into  the  world  with  gunpowder  on  the  brain,  or  tops 
and  leathers  on  his  legs  ?  " 

Thus  discourses,  in  praise  of  Angling,  that  "  klev- 
ver  dogge  and  phunne  j)oette,"  Tom  Hood.  And 
who  shall  gainsay  him  ?  Does  not  every  ardent  disci- 
ple of  honest  old  Izaak  Walton  feel  its  truth  tingling 
to  the  tips  of  his  fingers'  ends  ? 

Fly-fishing  has  been  designated  the  royal  and 
aristocratic  branch  of  the  angler's  craft,  and  unques- 
tionably it  is  the  most  difiicult,  the  most  elegant,  and 
to  men  of  taste,  by  myriads  of  degrees  the  most  ex- 
citing and  pleasant  mode  of  angling.  To  land  a  trout 
of  three,  four,  or  five  pounds  weight,  and  sometimes 


214  LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTES. 

lieavier,  with  a  hook  ahnost  invisible,  with  a  gut  line 
as  delicate  and  beautiful  as  a  single  hair  from  the 
raven  tresses  of  a  mountain  sylph,  and  with  a  rod  not 
heavier  than  a  tandem  whip,  is  an  achievement  re- 
quiring no  little  presence  of  mind,  united  to  consum- 
mate skill.  If  it  be  not  so,  and  if  it  do  not  give  you 
some  very  pretty  palpitations  of  the  heart  in  the  per- 
formance, may  we  never  wot  a  line  in  Lake  George,  or 
raise  a  trout  in  the  Susquehanna.  Fly-fishing  requires 
many  natural  attributes,  among  which  must  be 
chiefly  enumerated,  a  light  and  flexible  hand  and 
arm,  a  quick  eye,  and  one  that  can  "  squint  straight," 
caution,  coolness,  and  an  extreme  delicacy  of  touch. 
From  the  sources  of  the  Delaware  and  the  Susque- 
hanna to  those  of  the  Kennebec,  and  in  the'thousand 
mountain  streams  flowing  into  the  St.  La^vrence, 
trout-fishing  may  now  be  enjoyed  (May  and  June) 
in  the  utmost  perfection.  We  have  dreamed,  or  have 
somewhere  heard,  that  it  is  not  until  the  coM'slip  has 
shed  its  golden  smiles  over  the  meadows,  and  your 
ears  are  saluted  with  the  vernal  notes  of  the  reed- 
sparrow  ;  when  the  "  ephemera  "  or  May-fly  is  seen 
(courting  its  destruction)  giddily  to  wanton  over  the 
surface  of  the  stream  which  only  a  few  hours  before 
brought  it  into  existence,  that  trout  are  "  initiated 
into  condition,"  and  rise  freely  to  the  fly.  You  may 
now  see  them  lurking  in  every  direction  in  the  ponds 
of  New  Ei^gland ;  while  on  Long  Island,  he  that 
cannot  kill  twenty  brace  at  the  close  of  a  summer 
afternoon,  or  before  the  sun  gets  up,  should  not  be 
allowed  to  wet  a  line.     The  gray  and  green  drake, 


LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  215 

which  tlie  nearest  resemble  the  May-fly,  succeed  it 
in  their  season,  and  are  equally  welcomed  by  "  Johnny 
Trout."  Hie  palmer  family  follow  in  order,  and  may 
be  used  throughout  the  season  with  success.  But 
there  is,  during  the  still  evening  of  midsummer,  a 
minute  black  gnat,  which  riots  in  myriads  over  every 
stream,  and  we  have  seen  trout  in  a  continued  state 
of  excitement  for  above  an  hour  in  carping  at  these 
gnats.  We  confess  our  entire  disbelief  in  a  doctrine 
considered  orthodox  by  many,  that  each  season  and 
stream  has  its  peculiar  and  appropriate  flies  ;  and  we 
have  arrived  at  this  conclusion  after  as  much  practical 
experience  as  many  Waltonians  who  have  attained  the 
age  of  fourscore.  Since  we  were  stout  enough  to 
wield  a  rod,  our  "  constant  custom  of  an  afternoon  " 
has  been  to  put  it  to  use,  if,  by  hook  or  by  crook,  we 
could  ;  for  the  which  propensity  many  is  the  birchen 
one  we  have  had  applied  to  our  shoulders,  and  we 
are  free  to  say,  that  our  experience  goes  to  prove,  that 
with  three  flies  well  matched,  there  is  very  little  neces- 
sity of  cumbering  one's  hook  with  an  infinite  variety. 
Give  us  a  red  or  brown  hackle  for  the  end  of  our 
leader,  with  a  black  midge  for  the  first  dropper,  and 
a  light  salmon-colored  butterfly  not  larger  than  your 
thumb-nail  for  the  second,  and  we  can  raise  from  his 
cool  retreat  the  craftiest  trout  that  ever  gorged  a 
grasshopper,  or  turned  up  his  nose  in  scorn  at  the 
bungling  eflbrts  of  a  greenhorn. 

TROUT-FISHING,    FISHING-TACKLE,    &c. 
In  reply  to  one  of  William's  correspondents,  ask- 


21G  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

ing  for  minute  information  upon  certain  points  con- 
nected with  trout-fisliing,  the  former  rejoins : 

"  We  have  a  shrewd  suspicion  that  the  identity  of 
our  correspondent  is  not  unknown  to  us  ;  that  we  have 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  at  home,  while  enjoying 
the  hospitalities  which  his  honored  father  dispenses 
with  such  infinite  grace  at  Lexington.  In  answer  to 
his  inquiries :  the  best  practical  treatises  on  fishing 
are  Sir  Humphrey  Davy's  '  Sahnonia,  or  Days  of 
Fly  Fishing,'  and  '  Tlie  Eod  and  the  Gun,'  by  Wilson 
and  the  author  of  '  The  Oakleigh  Shooting  Code.'  Bid 
experience  is  the  hest  teacher.  To  become  a  first-rate 
angler,  one  must  be  born  to  it,  as  one  must  be  born  a 
poet,  a  painter,  or  a  musician, 

"  Izaak  Walton  eloquently  sustains  us  on  this  point : 
*  *  *  "  '  Doubt  not  but  that  Angling  is  an  art ; 
is  it  not  an  art  to  deceive  a  Trout  with  an  artificial 
fly  ?  a  Trout !  that  is  more  sharp-sighted  than  any 
Hawk  you  have  named,  and  more  watchful  and  timor- 
ous than  your  high-mettled  Merlin  is  bold  ?  and  yet,  I 
doubt  not  to  catch  a  brace  or  two  to-morrow  for  a 
friend's  breakfast.  Doubt  not,  therefore,  sir,  but  that 
Angling  is  an  art,  and  an  art  worth  your  learning : 
the  questicm  is  rather,  whether  you  be  capable  of 
learning  it  ?  for  Angling  is  something  like  Poetry, 
men  are  to  be  born  so ;  I  mean  with  inclinations  to 
it,  though  both  may  be  heightened  by  discourse  and 
practice  :  but  he  that  hopes  to  be  a  good  Angler,  must 
not  only  bring  an  inquiring,  searching,  observant  wit, 
but  he  must  bring  a  large  measure  of  hope  and  pa- 
tience, and  a  love  and  propensity  to  the  art  itself;  but 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  217 

having  once  got  and  practised  it,  then  doubt  not  bnt 
Angling  will  prove  to  be  so  pleasant,  that  it  will  prove 
to  be  like  virtue,  a  reward  to  itself.' 

"  To  justly  appreciate  the  truth,  the  poetry,  the 
honest  purpose  and  the  good  feeling  expressed  in  the 
above  quotation,  one  must  be  an  enthusiastic  disciple 
of  the  good,  the  pious  and  the  time-honored  old 
Izaak.  In  a  vast  country  like  ours,  where  the  diflerent 
modes  of  fishing  are  almost  as  numerous  as  the  varie- 
ties of  the  finny  tribe  themselves,  it  is  manifestly  im- 
possible to  lay  down  other  than  very  general  direc- 
tions for  the  information  of  the  neophyte.  Wilson  tells 
us,  with  equal  candor  and  truth,  that  '  expert  angling 
never  was  and  never  will  be  successfully  taught  by 
rule,  but  is  almost  entirely  the  result  of  assiduous  and 
long-continued  practice.'  Of  ordinary  rod-fishing  for 
trout  with  worms  or  live  bait,  we  presume  our  corre- 
spondent understands  the  first  principles,  consequently 
he  has  in  fact  already  commenced  his  primary  lessons 
in  Fly-fishing  and  Trolling.  But  in  this  section  of 
the  country,  whether  fishing  for  the  common  speckled 
trout  or  the  salmon  trout  of  the  lakes,  he  cannot  use 
a  fly  with  advantage  until  the  middle  of  May,  nor  can 
he  troll  successfully  for  salmon  or  salmon  trout  until 
about  the  first  of  June.  Before  the  appropriate  season 
commences,  we  will  endeavor  to  enlighten  our  corre- 
spondent on  both  matters,  though  we  beg  him  dis- 
tinctly to  understand  that  no  one  can  do  much  more 
for  him  after  informing  him  when  he  can  find  sport, 
than  to  recommend  suitable  tackle,  and  show  him 
how  it  may  be  best  adapted  to  his  wants  in  his  '  pursuit 
10 


218  LIFE   OF   ^\^LLIAM   T.    POETEK. 

of  knowledge  under  difficulties.'  The  art  of  throwing 
a  fly  is  readily  attained  by  one  who  handles  his  rod 
well  in  bait-fishing,  but  nothing  like  perfection  will 
be  achieved  until  after  careful  and  persevering  prac- 
tice. 

"Trolling  and  hand-line  fishing  is  about  as  simple 
as  set  lines  through  the  ice  or  otherwise :  an  apt 
scholar  will  learn  to  practise  either  in  a  few  hours. 
In  trolling  with  flies  or  live  bait  (and  it  is  well  enough 
to  have  both  attached  to  your  leader  at  the  same  time) 
you  can  pay  out  your  line  better,  and  it  will  play 
more  freely,  by  having  your  largest  fly  or  live  bait  at 
the  extreme  end  of  your  leader  ;  let  your  drop-flies  or 
bait  be  diminished  in  size  in  proportion  as  they  are 
looped  on  the  leader  from  the  end.  In  trolling  (with 
a  rod  is  much  the  surest  and  pleasantest  method)  your 
gut  leader  may  be  made  within  a  few  feet  of  its 
length  ;  if  longer,  you  will  fray  and  soon  ruin  it  in 
reeling  in  your  fish.  Until  you  get  accustomed  to  it 
— until  you  begin  to  play,  kill  and  land  your  fish  like 
an  artist,  you  should  use  a  short  leader,  not  above  six 
feet  long  ;  its  length  you  can  increase  as  you  get  on. 
In  rod-fishing,  we  would  recommend,  at  first,  the 
trial  of  a  single  hook  ;  when  you  can  use  two,  let  the 
bait  on  the  lowest  be  heaviest.  It  is  not  a  bad  plan 
in  early  spring  fishing  for  trout,  with  worms  or  live 
bait,  before  they  begin  to  rise  freely  to  the  fly,  to 
attach  a  fly  to  your  line  several  feet  above  your  bait, 
(in  proportion  to  the  depth  of  water.)  Every  one 
using  a  float  must  have  remarked  an  occasional  '  rise ' 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM  T.    rORTEE.  219 

to  it  by  some  very  old  trout,  that  would  not  be  tempt- 
ed with  bait.  Yery  early  in  the  summer  it  is  advisa- 
ble to  bait  your  lower  hook  with  worms,  and  the  other 
with  live  bait ;  that  is,  if  you  can  catch  killies  or 
shiners  with  a  scrap-net.  We  dislike  using  a  float, 
but  in  some  streams  that  are  overhung  with  lov/ trees, 
or  have  a  light  current,  one  is  absolutely  necessary,  in 
order  to  get  your  bait  carried  clear  of  roots  and  out 
of  eddies,  into  the  dark,  deep  holes  under  banlcs, 
rocks,  stumps,  etc.  Next  to  fly-fishing,  there  is  noth- 
ing so  delightful  nor  so  difficult  as  brook  fishing  ;  in 
nothing  is  patience,  skill  and  indomitable  persever- 
ance more  required,  and  in  the  successful  angler  these 
qualities  stand  out  in  bold  and  beautiful  relief. 

"  In  2:)07id  fishing,  or  in  streams  too  deep  for  wad- 
ing, (which  is  greatly  to  be  preferred  whenever  prac- 
ticable,) the  utmost  care  must  be  exercised  to  keep 
your  hoat  out  of  the  channel^  where,  with  their  heads 
to  the  current,  trout  always  lie.  If  once  disturbed, 
they  become  shy,  and  will  rarely  bite  or  rise  to  the 
fly  for  some  time.  Paddle  your  boat  quietly,  and  in 
anchoring  make  as  little  noise  as  possible ;  go  no 
nearer  a  good  '  hole '  than  will  enable  you  barely,  by 
a  good  cast,  to  throw  into  it ;  by  this  means,  instead 
of  frightening  them  all,  you  may  take  half  a  dozen  of 
the  twenty  fish  in  it.  If  you  use  a  float  and  sinker, 
let  them  be  as  slight  as  niay  be,  and  be  careful  to  drop 
them  lightly  into  the  water, 

"  As  iov  places  where  to  find  sport,  every  reader  of 
the  '  Spirit '  in  this  vicinity  well  knows.  There  is  not 
a  babbling  brook  or  tide  stream,  nor  a  pond,  public 


220  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TORTEE. 

or  private,  of  any  repute,  within  a  hundred  miles  of 
our  sanctum,  in  which  we  have  not  at  some  time  wet 
a  line.  On  the  south  side  of  Long  Island  one  can 
hardly  go  amiss,  while  at  Smithtown  there  are  three 
tine  ponds  and  two  creeks,  in  all  of  which  we  have 
had  capital  sport.  Stump  Pond  was  ever  a  favorite 
resort  for  us.  There  are  several  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  Babylon.  Seven  miles  further  on,  at  Islip, 
will  be  found  a  good  place,  and  one  of  the  finest 
creeks  on  the  Island.  It  is  worth  ten  times  the  drive 
just  to  spend  a  day  or  two  at  Crandall's  Hotel.  An 
hour's  drive  will  take  you  to  Snedicor's,  and  two 
hours  more  will  land  you  at  Uncle  Sam  Carman's  at 
Fire-Plaec.  To  be  sure,  there  is  capital  fishing  to  be 
had  within  ten  miles  of  to^vn,  but  unless  you  know 
something  about  the  proper  time  of  tide,  the  holes, 
etc.,  you  might  as  well  fish  in  a  tea-kettle  as  in  Spring 
Creek. 

"  Of  the  trout-fishing  in  Hamilton  and  Sullivan 
Counties  in  this  State  we  have  repeatedly  spoken,  as 
also  of  that  in  the  Sacondaga  and  the  Hudson,  near 
their  junction  at  Hadley  Falls.  Out  of  Maine,  the 
best  trout  streams  in  New  England  are  situated  in 
that  district  of  Massachusetts  known  as  Cape  Cod. 
The  Marshpee  Brook  at  Marshfield  is  beyond  all  dis- 
pute the  best  one  over  which  we  ever  held  a  rod. 
The  nearest  good  salmon-fishing  is  the  Kennebec 
Biver,  Maine,  and  the  Jacques-Cartier  in  Canada ; 
but  in  Piseco,  Lake  Pleasant,  and  other  lakes  in 
Hamilton  County,  salmon  trout  weighing  from  three 
to  forty-five  pounds,  are  taken  in  great  abundance. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  221 

Most  of  these  lakes  are  within  sixty  miles  of  Saratoga 
Springs. 

"  Our  correspondent  desires  ns  to  mention  what 
an  angler's  complete  outfit  would  cost  at  Conroy's? 
Now,  this  is  no  easy  matter  ;  the  prices  of  rods  vary 
from  one  to  twenty-eight  dollars ;  reels  from  one  to 
eight ;  lines  from  sixpence  to  five  dollars.  A  '  com- 
plete outfit '  for  a  Northern  man  comprises  three  times 
as  many  articles  as  is  required  for  a  gentleman  resid- 
ing in  the  South  or  West,  with  the  exception  perhaps 
of  South  Carolina.  We  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to 
have  a  difi'erent  rod  for  trout,  bass  and  salmon  fish- 
ing ;  we  have  had  for  years  half  a  dozen  excellent 
rods,  but  very  rarely  use  but  one  for  any  kind  of  rod- 
fishing  ;  indeed,  the  two  largest  bass  we  ever  caught 
were  taken  at  the  same  instant  with  an  extremely 
light  and  fragile  London  fly-rod,  not  heavier  than  a 
tandem-whip.  Conroy  has  recently  got  up  a  new 
general  rod,  from  a  pattern  we  furnished  him  eighteen 
months  since,  which  answers  every  purpose,  either 
for  fly,  salmon,  bass,  black  or  pickerel  fishing.  lie 
has  immortalized  the  writer  of  this  article  by  giving 
it  the  name  of  '  Porter's  General  Eod.'  The  idea  of 
the  rod  in  question  was  suggested  by  circumstances 
occurring  in  the  use  of  a  very  fine  one,  made  expressly 
for  us  some  years  since,  by  our  venerable  old  friend 
Leutner.  It  has  four  joints  for  bass  or  pickerel,  and 
five  for  trout  or  salmon  fishing,  with  three  extra  tips. 
It  can  be  so  put  together  as  to  make  a  rod  either  ten 
or  sixteen  feet  in  length  ;  you  may  make  out  of  it  a 
light  hand-rod  for  fly-fishing,  or  a  heavy,  powerful 


222  LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

rod,  sufficiently  strong  to  play  a  thirty-pound  salmon 
or  bass,  at  the  end  of  a  hundred  yards  of  line  !  In- 
stead of  rings  on  one  side,  '  Porter's  General  Kod ' 
has  fluted  guides  on  both  sides,  through  which  the 
line  can  play  ;  the  sockets  of  the  joints  are  double  in- 
stead of  single,  that  end  of  the  joint  fitting  into  the 
double  sockets  having  double  ferrules  around  it. 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  taking  this  rod  apart  from 
the  swelling  of  the  wood  from  wet,  while  at  the  same 
time  you  may  use  it  all  day  without  tightening  the 
joints  ;  it  can  never  get  out  of  order  with  fair  usage. 
Its  weight  is  about  three  poimds  only ;  the  smaller 
joints  are  of  lancewood,  and  the  ferrules,  guides,  tips, 
rockets,  etc.,  are  of  German  silver.  Conroy  informed 
us  a  few  days  since  that  he  had  more  orders  for  this 
rod  than  for  all  others  added  together.  Conroy  has 
lately  got  up  a  Patent  Balance  Reel — the  most  perfect 
thing  ever  invented.  It  is  of  German  silver,  which, 
by  the  way,  is  admirably  adapted  for  all  metal  appa- 
ratus, save  hooks,  embraced  in  the  paraphernalia  of 
an  angler,  as  it  does  not  corrode.  A  reel  that  will 
multiply  twice  is  preferable  to  any  other  ;  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  make  a  cast  with  one  that  multii^lies  more — 
or  less,  either,  unless  it  be  of  very  large  size.  On  no 
account  buy  a  cheap  one,  whatever  rod  you  may  se- 
lect.    A  poor  reel  is  of  all  mean  things  the  meanest. 

"  Hooks  of  the  best  quality  are  to  be  found  for 
two  or  three  shillings  per  dozen,  (always  excci^ting 
Limericks  of  'the  O'Shauglmessy  bend,'  which  are 
not  to  be  had  in  this  country  for  love  or  money,  if 
you  except,  perhaps,  a  single  one  which  we  may  give 


LIFE  OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  223 

yon,)  and  tlieso  you  must  tie  on  yourself.  Wlietlier 
the  hooks  of  Kirhj  <&  Co.  (vulgarly  yclept  '  curbed  ') 
or  the  Limerick  are  preferable,  we  shall  not  decide ; 
for  trout  and  salmon  we  prefer  the  latter,  and  the  for- 
mer for  bass.  For  trout  you  require  hooks  ranging 
from  'No.  1  to  3 — for  salmon,  from  No.  1  to  5 — for 
bass,  from  No.  1  to  3. 

"  Instead  of  purchasing  hooks  on  snells,  buy  a 
hank  of  choice  Spanish  gut,  and  make  your  own  snells 
and  leaders.  Quill  floats  are  preferable  for  begin- 
ners, as  they  are  more  quietly  dropped  into  the  water. 
Duck-shot  split  make  the  best  sinker^  and  let  this  be 
as  light  as  the  current  will  admit. 

"  In  the  matter  of  Lines  you  must  consult  your 
taste  and  purse. 

"  For  Flies.,  a  dollar  expended  with  judgment  will 
'  start  you  in  business  ;'  before  you  use  them  up  you 
must  learn  to  make  your  own.  Select  of  the  Brown, 
Red  and  Black  Hackle  two  each  ;  then  get  two  of 
Martin  Kelly's,  (Dublin,)  two  March  Browns,  and  two 
Green  Drakes.  If  you  fancy  a  Stone  Fly,  or  any 
other  variety,  get  it,  and  Conroy  will  probably  add  a 
Miller  just  for  luck  ! 

"  A  complete  outfit  for  Trout  FlsMng  may  be  ob- 
tained for  about  $40  ;  that  is,  assuming  that  every 
article  is  the  very  best  of  its  kind.  Purchase  nothing 
that  you  do  not  actually  require,  and  let  every  thing 
be  plain  and  substantial.  Remember,  however,  that 
with  five  dollars  more  you  may  provide  yourself  with 
every  additional  article  that  may  be  required  in  fish- 
ing for  bass,  bream,  tautog,  perch  or  pickerel.     The 


224  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

$40  will  provide  jou  witli  a  capital  rod  and  reel,  two 
lines  and  floats,  two  dozen  assorted  liooks,  one  dozen 
flies,  one  Lank  of  gnt,  a  liook  for  flies  and  snells,  a 
bait-box,  scrap-net,  gaff",  and  a  patent-leatlier  drinking 
cup,  (a  capital  Frencli  invention,  tliat  may  be  folded 
and  carried  in  your  vest-pocket.)  K  you  do  purchase 
a  '  landing '  or  '  scrap-net,'  select  one  tbat  has  a  brass 
frame  which  will  fold  up  and  also  screw  off;  have 
your  gaff  made  so  as  to  screw  on  in  its  place,  to  the 
handle  of  the  landing-net.  If  you  propose  visiting  a 
sparsely  inhabited  region,  where  you  may  be  obliged 
to  camp  out  o'  nights,  buy  an  inch  auger  inserted  as  a 
handle  in  a  light  hatchet,  the  whole  being  secured  in 
leather.  "With  it  you  can  erect  a  comfortable  shanty 
in  twenty  minutes,  or  fasten  together  a  raft  strong 
enough  to  support  '  half  a  horse  and  half  an  alligator.' 
"  There,  that  will  do  for  the  nonce.  If  our  corre- 
spondent will  do  us  the  honor  to  pay  us  a  visit  during 
his  next  vacation,  it  will  give  us  great  pleasure  to  af- 
ford him  the  aid  of  our  poor  counsel  in  all  matters  per- 
taining to  the  subject  of  these  crude  paragraphs, 
penned  in  great  haste,  out  of  the  afliuence  of  a  heart 
overflowing  with  charity  and  good  will  towards  every 
disciple  of  honest  old  Izaak." 

TROUT-FISHING    IN    HAMILTON    COUNTY,    N.  Y. 

(  Wliich  was  accompanied  with  a7i  illustration  by  Dick.) 

How  many  scenes  as  romantic  and  wildly  beauti- 
ful as  that  presented  by  Mr.  Dick's  engi-aving,  are 
exhibited  to  the  delighted  gaze  of  the  enthusiastic 


LIFE    OF    WILLIAJI   T.    TORTEE.  225 

angler  among  the  lakes  of  Hamilton  connty,  in  this 
State !  Tlie  bold  shores  of  these  miniature  seas,  upon 
which  are  piled,  like  "  Pelion  upon  Ossa,"  ranges  of 
"  everlasting  hills,"  are  covered  with  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  timber,  presenting  every  brilliant  hue  and 
variety  of  tint  so  characteristic  of  American  forest 
scenery ;  the  pigmy  promontories  stretching  far  out 
into  the  broad  expanse  of  gently  rippling  waters,  ter- 
minating in  sand-bars  glowing  like  molten  silver  in 
the  sun's  rays  ;  groups  of  islands,  whose  picturesque 
beauty  Cal3^pso  and  her  nymphs  might  envy,  dotting 
their  placid  surface  like  flocks  of  water-fowl,  with  here 
and  there  a  sail-boat  moored  in  some  quiet  cove  or 
under  a  towering  headland,  from  which  the  skilful 
angler 

"Lures  from  his  cool  retreat  the  crafty  trout :  ' 

how  many  charming  scenes  of  this  peculiar  character 
will  be  found  in  this  wild  and  moimtainous  region ! 
Look  again  at  our  illustration.  How  well  is  depicted 
a  bright  clear  morning,  at  the  moment  when 

"  Jocund  day  stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty  mountain-top." 

Tlie  cool  land-breeze  has  excited  such  a  capital  ripple 
for  fly-fishing,  that  one  can  almost  fancy  he  sees 
the  trout  "  breaking "  in  all  directions.  Take  the 
figures  in  the  foreground.  How  many  hearts  will  in- 
stinctively yearn  to  enjoy  "  the  royal  and  aristocratic 
branch  of  the  angler's  craft,"  so  felicitously  indi- 
cated in  the  engraving !  The  fortunate  individual 
who  is  wielding  his  fly-rod  with  such  palpable  success, 
10* 


226  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER. 

is  evidently  no  greenhorn,  thoiigli  we  should  recom- 
mend him  to  allow  Johnny  Trout  to  keep  his  nose 
under  water  for  a  while  longer,  if  he  would  assure 
himself  of  the  j)leasure  of  his  company  at  dinner. 
How  much  like  Alba  Dunning  or  Tim  Skidmore 
looks  that  tough  young  boatman  resting  on  his  oars, 
and  watching  with  the  keenest  interest  the  fierce 
struggles  of  that  five-pound  trout,  while  with  gaff  in 
hand  he  is  waiting  his  nearer  approach  to  assist  him 
safely  on  board  !  That  rod  fastened  in  the  stern 
looks  as  if  it  might  be  useful ;  doubtless  our  friend 
has  been  trolling  a  minnow  or  two  and  half  a  dozen 
flies  at  the  end  of  eighty  feet  of  line,  but  astounded 
at  the  boldness  of  a  sockdollager,  in  making  a  "  rise  " 
within  twenty  feet  of  the  boat,  he  has  evidently 
snatched  up  his  single-handed  fly-rod,  and  with  a 
magnificent  cast  has  dropped  a  most  killing  green- 
drake  on  the  precise  spot.  Of  course,  a  morsel  so 
delicious  and  so  temptingly  displayed  is  not  to  be 
resisted  by  a  salmon-trout  suffering  under  "  the  keen 
demands  of  appetite,"  and  results  in  a  bold  "  break," 
a  whir  of  the  reel,  a  dash  up  fifty  yards,  consummate 
skill  in  making  play  on  both  sides,  until  the  "  tottle 
of  the  whole"  matter  is  presented  as  in  the  scene 
illustrated  by  the  engraving. 

*  *  *  •»  -X-  * 

lie  writes  in  June,  1840,  that  the  finest  trout-fishing 
at  this  season  of  the  year  north  of  the  Susquehanna, 
is  to  be  had  at  Cape  Cod  ;  we  are  entreated  not  to  be 
too  definite,  for  a  fortnight  at  least,  when  we  shall  be 
at  liberty  to  flare  uj)  with  the  particular  localities  in 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM    T.    PORTER.  227 

the  towns  of  Sandwich,  Barnstable,  Wareham,  &c. 
A  despatch  from  the  head-quarters  of  the  "  Cape 
Division,"  now  at  Marshpee,  reached  us  last  week.  It 
was  accompanied  with  two  champagne  baskets  of  fat, 
rosy  trout,  of  from  one  to  three  pounds  weight.  The 
run  was  splendid,  nearly  twenty  weighing  two  pounds 
each,  while  several  came  well  up  to  three  pounds. 
One  of  his  correspondents  wrote  from  the  Cape  that 
"  we  killed  to-day  eighty-eight  trout — yesterday  thir- 
ty-one, seven  of  which  weighed  twelve  and  a  half 
pounds  ;  *  *  *  to-day  we  killed  thirty,  four  of  which 
weighed  ten  and  a  half  pounds,  the  largest  weighing 
three  pounds."  "  Tliese  trout,"  writes  "William,  "  were 
caught  in  salt  creeks ;  were  taken  with  minnows, 
though  after  putting  on  a  minnow,  the  Limerick  was 
tipped  with  a  worm.  It  is  impossible  to  use  a  fly  in 
the  Marshpee,  owing  to  the  foliage  which  completely 
embowers  the  brook  ;  the  best  trout  stream  in  which 
it  was  our  good  fortune  to  wet  a  line.  In  several 
streams,  however,  the  trout  rise  freely  to  the  black 
midge  and  brown  hackle,  and  occasionally  great  exe- 
cution may  be  done  with  a  salmon-colored  member 
of  the  palmer  family." 

"Having  returned  last  week  (Sept.  1844)  from 
Hamilton  Co.,  N.  Y.,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  express- 
ing the  opinion  that  more  good  fisliing  and  hunting 
may  be  found  there  than  in  any  section  of  the  coun- 
try on  this  side  of  the  Alleghanies.  It  is  now  four 
years  since  we  first  cast  our  line  into  these  lakes,  and 
enthusiastic  as  our  description  of  the  trout-fishing 
there  was  deemed  at  the  time,  we  have  been  assured 


228  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

bj  many  gentlemen,  wlio  were  induced  to  visit  them 
from  our  representations,  that  the  reality  far  exceeded 
their  most  sanguine  expectations.  Although  this  is 
not  the  best  season  of  the  year  for  killing  trout,  yet 
it  is  far  better  there  even  now  than  it  ever  is  on 
Long  Island ;  while  the  shooting  and  hunting  are 
'  immense.'  The  fishing,  as  well  as  the  hunting, 
will  be  much  better  for  the  ensuing  four  weeks,  than 
it  was  during  the  period  of  our  recent  visit. 

"  Hamilton  County  is  very  sj^arsely  settled,  and  still 
less  cultivated.  There  are  wood  and  water  enough  in 
it  for  a  pretty  smart  State,  and  the  county  is  so 
healthy,  that  ten  men  run  away  where  one  dies.  At 
a  majority  of  the  best  places  for  sport,  one  is  five' 
miles  from  any  house,  and  twenty  from  anywhere 
else ;  so  you  will  be  obliged  to  build  a  shanty  and 
camp  out.  Tlie  salmon  and  lake  trout  are  taken  all 
over  the  county,  of  prodigious  size,  occasionally  weigh- 
ing thirty-five  pounds,  while  the  speckled  or  brook- 
trout  run  from  one  to  four  pounds,  and  are  killed  in 
immense  numbers.  The  shooting  is  splendid ;  there 
are  more  moose  and  deer  killed  annually  in  Hamilton 
County,  than  in  any  other  half-dozen  in  the  State. 
Partridges,  woodcock,  etc.,  and  a  great  variety  of 
water-fowl  also,  are  found  in  untold  abundance.  If 
you  would  like  a  shy  at  a  panther  or  bear,  or  a  pack 
of  wolves,  you  can  enjoy  it ;  but  a  moose,  that  is  an 
afi'air  just  a  huckleberry  over  any  American  field 
sport,  short  of  bufi*alo-hunting.  A  full-grown  bull 
moose  is  seventeen  hands  high,  and  his  antlers  some- 
times measure  eight  feet  from  tip  to  tip.     A  large 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  229 

one  weighs  sixteen  hundred  pounds;  the  highest 
fences  would  ofler  no  obstruction  to  them,  as  they 
can  clear  in  their  stride  an  immense  log  higher 
than  a  man's  head.  They  are  gifted  with  extra- 
ordinary powers  of  speed  and  endurance,  their  gait 
something  between  a  trot  and  a  rack ;  barring  a  buffa- 
lo chase,  there  is  nothing  so  exciting  or  so  dangerous 
as  moose-hunting  on  snow-shoes. 

^'■For  '  things '  required  for  Fishing^  Shooting, 
etc. — Take  your  rifle  Math  you,  if  you  hope  to  knock 
over  a  moose,  but  above  all  your  double-barrelled 
Westley  Kichards,  and  if  you  have  one  of  Colt's  or 
Rolen's  revolving  pistols,  take  that  along  also.  Take 
your  trout  and  your  bass-rod,  for  in  trolling  you  can 
make  use  of  each,  and  moreover  an  extra  rod  is  not 
a  bad  idea  in  case  of  accidents.  Lay  in  a  complete 
supply  of  ammunition,  including  some  wire  cartridges. 
For  your  fishing  apparatus  you  must  have  at  least  one 
hraided  silk  line,  not  less  than  one  hundred  yards  long 
and  on  a  good  reel,  for  salmon-trout  fishing.  Let  it  be 
stout.  EecoUect  that  half  the  cheap  lines,  after  a  few 
days'  fishing  are  not  strong  enough  to  pull  a  sitting- 
hen  oft'  her  nest !  Killing  a  twenty-pounder  at  the  end 
of  eighty  yards  of  line  is  no  child's  play.  Add  two 
or  three  nice  elastic  lines  for  ordinary  trout-fishing. 
If  you  are  an  artist,  you  will  have  a  delicate  fly -line, 
to  match  your  single-handed  rod.  Recollect  that  you 
cannot  splice  a  line  so  as  to  play  a  heavy  fish  well  on  a 
jointed  rod,  and  that  one  less  than  fifty  yards  long  will 
be  of  no  account  when  you  are  about  to  use  it.     If 


230  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

you  can  find  a  braided  hair-line  eiglitj-five  feet  long, 
nearly  as  large  as  a  qnill,  and  stout  as  a  bed-cord,  buy 
it,  to  use  as  a  liand-line  for  lake  trout.  Take  an  extra 
reel  or  two  :  and  '  Porter's  General  Eod.'  We  have 
used  one  for  four  years,  and  have  not  broken  or  strained 
so  much  as  a  tip  ;  it  is  in  as  fine  order  as  when  first 
turned  out,  and  few  rods  have  seen  harder  service. 
Brough  caught  a  shark  with  it  at  Stonington  nearly 
as  long  and  heavy  as  himself,  and  we  have  killed  with 
it  three  sockdollagers  at  a  time  repeatedly ;  both 
trout,  bass,  and  blue-fish.  Get  a  hank  of  salmon-gut, 
and  make  your  own  leaders  ;  if  you  can't  yet  tie  your 
flies,  it  is  high  time  you  set  about  acqniring  the  art. 
You  want  half  a  dozen  sets  of  snap-hooks  for  trolling, 
sve  prefer  the  Kirby  to  the  Limerick  ;  they  should  be 
quite  small,  not  above  half  the  size  used  for  pike  or 
pickerel.  Have  a  couple  of  dozen  of  trout-hooks  of 
assorted  sizes,  to  provide  for  an  emergency,  and  half 
a  dozen  of  the  smallest  possible  size  for  bait.  Instead 
of  a  landing-net  use  a  gafi" ;  the  hook  of  the  latter 
you  can  take  in  yonr  pocket,  while  the  former  gives 
you  as  much  trouble  as  a  lady's  bandbox.  With 
regard  to  flies,  use  your  own  discretion  as  to  colors, 
but  be  sure  they  are  large.  You  will  require  a 
dozen  salmon-flies  tied  on  long  Limerick  hooks, 
and  not  less  than  two  dozen  trout-flies,  that  is,  if  you 
cannot  make  them.  Fill  your  hook  with  the  red  and 
brown  hackles  ;  green  drakes,  gray  palmers  and  blue 
jays ;  make  their  bodies  gay  and  brilliant,  and  the 
longer  their  wings  and  tails  the  better.  The  most  suc- 
cessful fly  we  ever  used,  we  tied  on  during  a  furious 


LIFE    OF    WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  231 

gale  on  Piseco  Lake  ;  it  was  a  large,  gaudy,  coarsely 
made  thing,  but  a  regular  killer ;  body  dark  blue 
hackle,  with  blue  wings,  and  tail  tipped  with  white 
of  the  blue  jay,  head  of  golden  red  from  a  black- 
bird's wing.  A  very  little  experience  will  enable 
any  person  of  moderate  ingenuity  to  tie  his  own  flies, 
and  a  day's  practice  will  teach  him  more  about  size 
and  color  than  he  would  acquire  from  books  by  a 
month's  study.  '  Meadows '  recommends  a  tyro  to 
take  a  well-made  artificial  fly  to  pieces,  examining  it 
carefully  as  he  proceeds ;  in  a  few  trials  he  will  succeed 
in  tying  one  to  his  mind.  Do  not  embarrass  yourself 
with  superfluous  traps  ;  the  apparatus  of  a  true  disci- 
ple of  the  gentle  art  consists  of  a  few  plain,  first- 
rate  articles.  He  looks  upon  the  nicknacks  of  the 
greenhorn,  as  if  they  were  intended  to  catch  trout 
by  dropping  salt  on  their  tails. 

'■'•Extra  matters  and  things  worth  a  consideration. — 
If,  perchance,  you  happen  to  be  a  modern '  Temperance 
Society  man,'  you  had  better  lay  in  your  stores,  for 
you  will  find  little  or  nothing  better  than  '  old  bold- 
face '  in  Hamilton  County,  save  at  Van  Derwarker's,  at 
Lake  Pleasant.  Having  the  fear  of  im-Providence 
and  bad  dinners  before  us,  we  took  the  precaution  to 
lay  in  a  few  cold  tongues,  a  delicious  Virginia  ham, 
and  some  pressed  corn-beef,  an  invention  of  mine 
hosts  of  the  Astor,  on  whom,  and  for  which  Danse,  or 
some  other  pretty  woman,  should  descend  in  a  shower 
of  gold,  if  we  could  have  a  few  minutes'  conversation 
with  '  her  man '  Jupiter.     You  also   had  best  take 


232  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER, 

a  small  frying-pan  and  a  griddle,  both  witliout 
handles,  and  an  apparatus  for  striking  a  light.  Lay 
in  your  cigars,  if  you  smoke,  and  your  tobacco,  and 
provide  yourself  with  a  good  pack.  A  light  hatchet, 
with  an  inch  auger  for  a  handle,  will  be  worth  its 
weight  in  gold.  If  you  have  a  large  stout  pair  of 
Lidia-rubber  boots,  put  them  in  your  carpet-bag  :  if 
otherwise,  get  a  pair  of  thick  seal-skin ;  have  the 
heels  made  broad  and  flat,  and  be  sure  they  are  made 
a  size  or  two  larger  than  your  foot.  Don't  carry  a 
trunk  large  enough  for  a  rhinoceros,  and  in  packing 
it,  make  up  your  mind  that  every  thing  you  wear  will 
be  torn  into  the  size  of  bullet  patches,  before  you 
return,  provided  you  '  go  in '  for  the  whole  strength 
of  the  game ;  such  as  walking  for  miles  through  a 
pathless  forest,  and  camping  out,  though  you  may 
not  be  obliged  to  do  any  thing  of  the  kind. 

"  J7ie  Routes  to  Hamilton  Co.' — ^If  you  start  from 
New  York,  take  the  night-boat  to  Troy,  and  proceed  to 
Saratoga  Springs.  Ask  Maroni,  of  the  United  States 
Hotel,  to  get  you  a  good  pair  of  horses  and  a  strong 
wagon,  which  you  can  always  obtain,  even  in  July 
and  August,  at  a  very  moderate  price.  If  you  do  not 
expect  to  be  absent  above  a  week,  hire  the  horses  for 
that  time.  Maroni  will  supj)ly  you  with  stores,  and 
you  can  take  a  fair  start.  From  the  Springs  to  the 
handsome  new  hotel  at  Lake  Pleasant,  the  distance  is 
about  sixty  miles  ;  the  route  lies  up  through  the  Sacan- 
daga  Yallcy,  a  picturesque  country,  and  the  road  is  so 
good,  that  by  an  early  start  you  can  get  through  in  a  day. 


LIFK   OF   WILLIAM    T.    I'OKTER.  233 

''^Places for  Sport  about  Lake  Pleasant. — ^Tlie  hotel 
here  will  be  your  head-quarters.  It  is  within  thirty 
rods  of  both  Round  Lake  and  Lake  Pleasant,  which 
are  connected  by  a  creek.  The  Sacandaga  Eiver  is  the 
outlet  of  these  two  lakes,  and  unites  with  West  River 
(the  outlet  of  Piseco  Lake)  at  Wells.  Prom  your 
hotel  you  are  within  six  miles  of  Piseco  Lake,  fourteen 
of  Louis,  eighteen  of  Lidian,  forty  of  Packet,  and 
fifty  of  Long  Lake.  After  fishing  in  the  lakes  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  hotel,  you  must  visit 
Louis  Lake,  taking  '  Indian  Clearing '  in  your  way. 
You  can  go  a  few  miles  in  a  wagon,  and  the  remain- 
der on  horseback  ;  if  there  are  four  in  the  party,  take 
two  horses  and  '  ride  and  tie.'  Tlie  distance  is  four- 
teen miles,  but  if  you  walk  it  you  w^ill  think  it  forty. 
After  Piseco,  Louis  Lake  has  afforded  us  the  very  best 
trout-fishiug  we  ever  enjoyed.  And  then  the  deer- 
shooting,  as  at  Lake  Pleasant,  is  capital.  On  the  day 
of  our  last  arrival  there,  they  killed  a  fine  bear,  and 
one  morning,  of  seven  deer  run  into  the  lake,  five  were 
killed,  including  four  bucks.  Moose-hunting  proper 
does  not  commence  until  after  a  heavy  fall  of  snow. 
Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  hunting  to  be  had 
when  we  state  that  it  is  estimated  that  not  less  than 
one  hundred  moose  and  five  hundred  deer  were  killed 
last  season  within  a  range  of  thirty  miles  of  Lake 
Pleasant. 

"  N.  B. — On  your  way  to  Louis  Lake,  be  sure  to 
try  a  large  and  deep  hole  at  the  Indian  Clearing.  We 
once  caught  t'ere  forty  odd  trout,  with  a  fly,  in  aboiit 
an  hour.    There  is  good  fishing,  too,  at  the  falls  of 


23J:  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

Jessiip's  Hiver,  wliicli  are  not  far  from  wliere  yon 
cross  that  stream  on  your  way  to  the  lake.  Tliere  are 
a  dozen  small  lakes  near  Lake  Pleasant  we  have  not 
mentioned.  Indeed,  there  are  not  less  than  a  hundred 
laid  down  in  Mr.  Hoffman's  sm-vey  of  Hamilton 
County,  but  we  are  assm-ed  the  number  falls  little 
short  of  five  hundred.  A  very  inconsiderable  portion 
of  the  county  has  been  cleared,  much  less  settled,  so 
that,  except  in  Lakes  Pleasant  and  Piseco,  visitors 
must  expect  hard  fare  at  the  best.  A  great  num- 
ber of  the  inhabitants  secure  a  livelihood  by  hunting 
and  trapping  ;  otter,  martin,  etc.,  are  caught  in  great 
numbers  during  the  winter,  and  the  beaver  is  far 
from  extinct.  Every  week  during  the  season  a  heavy 
load  of  game  is  sent  from  Lake  Pleasant  to  Saratoga, 
so  that  you  can  communicate  with  the  world,  for  you 
are  essentially  out  of  it  in  this  region. 

"  The  First  Thiny  to  Do  upon  your  Arrival. — ^We 
will  suppose  you  snugly  quartered  at  the  Lake  Pleas- 
ant Hotel,  where  you  will  find  every  thing  neat, 
plain  and  quiet  about  the  place ;  and  a  man  that  can 
almost  hold  fire  in  his  hand,  '  by  thinking  of  the  frosty 
Caucasus'  can  get  on  quite  comfortably.  The  first 
important  stej)  now  to  be  taken  is  to  hunt  up  Nat 
Morrill,  Tim  Skidmore,  Kandall  or  Cole,  and  you 
will  find  your  hands  full  to  match  either,  as  woods- 
men or  sportsmen.  Nat  and  Tim  know  every  trout- 
hole,  deer-stand  or  moose-yard,  within  twenty  miles. 
Morrill  is  a  trapper  by  profession,  and  Tim  inherits 
all  the  knowled£i;c  of  woodcraft  which  made  his  late 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  235 

uncle  so  celebrated  in  this  region.  Dunning  you  will 
find  too  a  capital  fellow  in  the  woods ;  lie  can  carry  a 
pack,  build  a  shanty,  catch  bait,  w^ork,  and  make 
himself  generally  useful ;  Cole,  too,  can  do  this,  and 
beside,  has  several  fine  hounds.  Yan  Derwarker  will 
lend  you  a  pointer  or  a  setter,  and  oblige  yon  in  any 
way. 

"  Something  about  Fishing. — ^The  best  time  to  visit 
Hamilton  County  for  tlie  purpose  oi  fishing  is  the  last 
week  of  May  or  first  of  June,  but  trout  in  abundance 
may  be  taken  from  one  year's  end  to  another.  From 
May  until  September  they  rise  freely  to  the  fly,  but  in 
June  the  large  lake  trout  are  to  be  seen  breaking  like 
speckled  trout,  and  may  be  taken  in  the  same  manner. 
After  this  time  they  gradually  return  into  deeper 
water,  and  in  July,  and  subsequently,  you  fish  for  them 
— usually  with  a  hand-line — in  from  fifty  to  one  hun- 
dred feet  of  water.  A  Mr.  Jewett,  at  Lake  Pleasant, 
makes  capital  hooks  for  this  kind  of  fishing.  They 
resemble  in  shape  the  celebrated  Limerick  hooks, 
which  have  what  is  termed  the  '  O'Shauglmessy 
bend,'  and  are  exceedingly  well  tempered.  They 
are  as  large  as  the  hooks  used  for  cod,  haddock,  etc., 
and  require  to  be.  We  have  seen  the  largest  of  them 
snapped  ofi",  and  lines  broken  that  appeared  strong 
enough  to  hold  an  alligator.  Tlie  point  of  these 
hooks  is  not  above  half  the  ordinary  height,  and  it 
has  a  barb  on  each  side  of  it.  We  think,  however,  we 
have  a  better  hook  yet ;  the  pattern  sent  to  us  by 
General  Brooke  of  the  U.  S.  army,  one  of  the  most 


236  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TOKTEK. 

distinguished  disciples  of  Izaak  Walton,  as  he  is  one 
of  the  most  gallant  and  accomplished  officers  in  the 
service.  We  have  had  several  made  for  distribution 
among  our  friends,  and  have  induced  Conroy  to  order 
several  thousands  of  various  sizes  from  England.  Gen- 
eral Brooke  has  used  them  with  great  success  in  Lake 
Superior  and  Florida. 

"  Salmon  or  lake-trout  fishing  is  practised  here  as  at 
Lake  George.  It  is  not  to  our  taste,  by  the  by,  but  you 
shall  have  the  benefit  of  our  experience.  Li  the  first 
place,  select  what  seems  to  your  eye  a  good  location 
or  two  in  a  lake,  and  mark  the  spot  by  sinking  a  rock 
attached  to  a  strong  cord,  the  upper  end  of  which  you 
tie  to  a  shingle  as  a  buoy,  which  floats  directly  over 
your  '  anchor,'  so  that  you  can  at  any  time  hit  upon 
the  precise  spot ;  the  water  where  the  anchor  is  sunk 
should  be  over  fifty  feet  dee]3.  Cut  up  half  a  bushel  of 
small  fish,  shiners,  suckers,  etc.,  and  throw  them  over 
it,  and  upon  the  following  day  you  may  safely  calculate 
upon  taking  as  many  salmon  trout  as  you  care  to  lug 
home.  These  same  lakes  you  will  also  find  to  abound 
with  speckled  trout,  of  large  size  and  exquisite  flavor. 
The  fly-fishing  cannot  be  paralleled  in  our  opinion, 
and  we  have  wet  a  line  in  nearly  every  stream  or 
pond  of  note  beween  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Kenne- 
bec. You  will  find  great  sport  in  trolling.  For  this 
you  require  a  leader  of  your  strongest  gut,  nearly  as 
long  as  your  rod ;  put  on  a  set  of  snap-hooks  at  the 
end,  and  another  set  three  feet  above  it,  on  each  of 
which  spin  a  live  minnow.  Above  the  snaps,  at  uni- 
form distances,  loop  on  three  or  four  large  salmon- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEK.  237 

flies,  and  our  word  for  it,  in  Piseco  or  Louis  lakes 
you  will  take  two  or  three  at  a  time.  Let  out  from 
forty  to  seventy  feet  of  line,  and  use  your  heaviest 
rod  ;  bend  a  lighter  line  on  your  second  rod,  and  use 
smaller  flies ;  an  hour's  fishing  will  dictate  to  you  the 
most  successful  sizes  and  colors  of  your  flies.  You 
can  troll  and  throw  your  fly  at  the  same  time. 

"  The  river  and  brook  fishing,  except  that  it  is  in- 
comparably finer,  is  very  like  that  found  in  other  sec- 
tions of  tlie  State,  with  this  diff"erence,  that  instead  of 
fishing  down  a  stream  for  a  mile  or  two,  you  strike 
from  one  hole  to  another,  and  sometimes  fish  in  the 
same  place  two  or  three  days.  These  deep  '  holes ' 
are  more  properly  eddies,  not  usually  over  six  rods 
wide,  but  from  a  quarter  to  a  half-mile  in  length ;  they 
are  full  of  trout,  and  you  can  take  a  hundred  brace  in  a 
day  sometimes,  but  this  is  sheer  waste,  and  unless  you 
have  a  packhorse,  you  can't  carry  above  half  the  num- 
ber away,  especially  if  you  have  to  wallow  for  half 
a  dozen  of  miles  through  a  thick  growth  of  witch- 
hopple  and  shin-hemlock,  the  very  thought  of  which 
makes  our  legs  ache. 

"  To  return  to  trolling.  "We  plead  guilty  to  having 
had  recourse  to  an  arrangement  which  we  are  con- 
fident our  friends  <  G.,'  '  Piscator  '  and  '  Meadows ' 
will  think  any  thing  but  orthodox.  In  trolling 
with  flies,  we  found  half  the  time  that  a  '  rise ' 
was  but  the  weak  invention  of  the  enemy,  and  we 
proceeded  to  '  circumvent '  him  after  the  follow- 
ing fashion :  we  tied  two  flies  together,  selecting  a 
large  yellow  salmon-fly,  for  instance,  and  an  ordinaiy- 


238  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

sized  red  or  brown  hackle  trout-fly.  Yon  should  have 
seen  how  it  worked  ;  it  was  good  for  weak  eves.  In 
casting  in  the  ordinary  way,  with  a  single  or  double- 
handed  rod,  of  course  it  was  unnecessary  to  resort  to 
any  such  heretical  practice. 

"  Siyort  at  Lahe  Piseco. — After  spending  a  week  in 
the  vicinity  of  Lake  Pleasant,  get  Van  Derwarker  to 
drive  you  behind  his  first  man  to  Arietta,  a  little 
village  located  close  by  the  inlet  of  Lake  Piseco.  The 
lake  is  very  large,  and  the  best  one  for  trout  we  ever 
threw  a  fly  in.  At  Arietta  is  a  nice  house,  kept  by 
Hiram  Jones,  a  clever  man  in  all  respects.  And  here 
we  must  introduce  you  to  Alba  Dunning,  as  fine- 
spirited  and  gallant  a  young  woodsman  as  ever 
knocked  over  a  moose  or  landed  a  salmon.  He  has 
such  appliances  and  means  for  fishing  and  shooting  as 
you  can  find  nowhere  else.  His  sail  and  row-boats 
are  tip-top  ;  he  has  plenty  of  live  bait  preserved  in 
nets,  and  what  is  equally  pleasant,  his  father's  house 
is  within  twenty  rods  of  the  lake.  By  the  way,  let 
us  present  you  to  the  old  gentleman  ;  he  is  a  resident 
of  the  county  of  fifty  years'  standing,  and  has  killed 
more  of  feather  and  fin  than  any  man  in  the  county. 
He  does  not  '  keep  a  public  house,'  but  occasionally 
'  entertains  company,'  which  being  interpreted,  means 
that  if  you  look  like  a  clever  fellow,  he  will  give  you 
the  best  at  his  command,  and  if  you  do  not,  he  will 
not  have  you  at  any  price. 

"Lake  Piseco  is  about  seven  miles  in  length  by 
two  in  width  ;    a  most  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  sur- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TOKTER.  239 

rounded  on  all  sides  by  a  majestic  range  of  hills, 
covered  to  tlie  summit  witli  the  most  magnificent 
forest  trees.  The  picturesque  scenes  presented  from 
many  points  of  this  seat  in  miniature,  exhibit  a  savage 
grandeur  of  aspect,  combined  with  a  degree  of  wild 
romantic  beauty,  that  would  have  charmed  Sir  Walter 
Scott  amid  his  own  Highlands,  while  Christopher  North 
would  throw  away  his  crutch  and  immortalize  them, 
after  such  fly-fishing  as  we  enjoyed. 

"  A  few  more  hints :  do  not  allow  your  deer-hunting 
to  break  in  upon  your  time,  but  drive  early  in  the 
morning.  If  you  like  fin-hunting — and  we  hope  you 
do  not,  for  it  is  a  most  unsportsman-like  practice, — be 
careful  that  you  do  not  "  shine  the  eyes  "  of  2i  panther. 

"  While  at  Piseco  do  not  neglect  to  make  a  trip  to 
a  large  deep  pool  in  West  River,  six  miles  from  Mr. 
Dunning's  house.  The  route  has  rarely  been  tracked 
by  any  thing  save  a  moose  or  a  panther,  and  you  will 
be  '  most  cousarnedly '  tried  before  you  reach  it. 
Ah !  but  the  bare  sight  of  the  place  will  repay  a  thou- 
sand ills  !  Our  party  of  four  took  there  with  a  fly, 
within  an  hour  of  our  arrival,  thirty-eight  brook-trout, 
which  would  average  two  pounds  each  !  That's  what 
we  call  sport !  " 

Mr.  Porter  made  an  agreeable  excursion  in  Au- 
gust, 1843,  to  Stonington,  to  enjoy,  with  two  friends 
passing  the  hot  months  there,  bass  and  black-fishing. 
He  gives  his  hints  upon  the  subject : 

"  For  sea-bass,  if  you  do  not  stand  on  a  rock  and 


240  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

the  reef,  wliicli  is  far  preferable  for  sport,  though  it  is 
usually  very  rough.  Fish  for  these  sea-bass  with  a 
small  but  first-rate  salmon  line  of  a  hundred  yards  in 
length  ;  the  best  bait  is  a  sort  of  squid,  made  thus  : 
Take  an  eel  about  a  foot  long,  and  with  your  pen- 
knife make  an  incision  an  inch  in  length  beneath  his 
jaws  ;  then  carefully  cut  off  his  head  without  ruptur- 
ing the  skin,  turn  it  over  his  back,  and  peel  him 
entire.  After  turning  the  skin  right  side  outwards, 
take  your  lower  hook  (you  must  have  two  tied  on  a 
piece  of  gimp)  and  pass  it  through  the  eel's  mouth, 
and  down  his  body  about  four  inches  from  the  head, 
then  pull  it  through  the  skin  of  the  belly.  The 
uj)per  hook,  which  of  course  is  to  be  tied  on,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  gimj),  to  the  lower,  you  must 
now  insert  well  back  in  the  eel's  mouth,  and  turn  the 
point  up  thi-ough  his  head.  Be  careful  that  you  place 
your  hooks  in  the  eel's  skin  at  the  exact  distance  at 
which  they  are  tied  on,  otherwise  your  bait  will  have 
an  unnatural  appearance,  and  will  not  work  well. 
Secure  your  upper  hook  tidily  to  the  skin  with  a 
thread,  and  carefully  adjust  your  sinker  ;  with  such  a 
squid,  provided  you  manage  it  well,  you  ought  to  take 
thirty  bass  in  a  single  tide,  that  is,  on  the  last  of  the 
ebb,  and  the  first  of  the  flood.  You  must  troll  across 
the  reef  selected  for  the  sj^ort,  and  Frank  Blake,  in 
twenty  minutes,  will  put  you  to  many  '  artful  dodges ' 
to  insure  success. 

"No  thoroughbred  sportsman  will  use  any  bor- 
rowed article,  either  for  fishiug  or  shooting,  if  he  can 
possibly  avoid  it. 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEE.  241 

"  Go  to  Conroy's,  52  Fulton  Street,  and  order  the 
following  '  traps  : ' 

1  '  New  London  '  hemp  line,  on  a  creel. 

1  striped  bass  or  salmon  line,  100  yards. 

1  doz.  Hemming's  or  Kirby's  black-flsh  hooks,  on  snells. 

1    "    assorted   Hemming's   black-fish   hooks,   straight   and 

curved. 
1  doz.  best  hemp  snoods. 

1  "  Kirby's  and  Limerick  assorted  bass-hooks,  on  snells  or 
gimp. 

4  sinkers — from  ^  lb.  to  1  lb. 

2  squids  for  blue  fish— bone  and  metal. 
1  doz.  cod  hooks. 

"  With  this  tackle  one  may  be  considered  armed  all 
in  proof  for  bass,  blue,  black  or  king-fish,  flounders, 
drum,  cod,  haddock,  or  pretty  much  any  thing  else 
you  can  scare  up." 

ARTIFICIAL    TROUT-FLIES,    OCT,    12,    1844. 

"  We  are  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Eobert  Em- 
mett,  Esq.,  of  this  city,  for  one  of  the  most  acceptable 
presents  which  fortune  ever  '  buckled  on  our  back  ; '  a 
present  doubly  gratifying  as  coming  from  one  of  the 
most  ardent  and  accomplished  disciples  of  old  Izaak 
Walton  in  the  United  States.  The  acquaintances  of 
our  time-honored  old  friend.  General  G,,  of  Washing- 
ton City,  a  veteran  of  the  regular  army,  will  not  fail 
to  remember  his  manifestations  of  delight  upon  re- 
ceiving from  his  friend  Sir  Charles  Yaughan,  after 
the  latter's  return  to  England  from  his  diplomatic 
mission  here,  a  capacious  book,  filled  with  a  superb 
11 


242  Ln^E  or  william  t.  poetek. 

collection  of  artificial  flics.  With  no  tithe  of  the 
General's  ability  to  express  his  grateful  acknowl- 
edgments, we  still  do  not  yield  to  him  in  the  sincerity 
of  our  appreciation  of  the  generous  impulses  which 
prompted  this  characteristic  token  of  regard  from  a 
brother  angler.  In  the  case  before  us  we  find  first  a 
dozen  rare  flies,  dressed  by  the  veritable  hands  of  the 
renowned  Paddy  Kelly  of  Dublin,  and  tied  on  Limerick 
hooks  of  O'Shaughnessy's  or  Sell's  bend — hooks  not  to 
be  obtained  for  love  or  money  in  this  country.  Each 
one  is  worthy  of  a  distinct  engraving  and  a  separate 
chaj)ter.  Next  comes  a  dozen  '  droppers,'  the  ex- 
quisite handiwork  of  the  late  lamented  Father  Levins, 
of  this  city,  one  of  onr  most  eloquent  Catholic  divines, 
among  which  '  the  Professor,'  (so  named  for  Old  Kit 
North,  of  Blackwood's  Magazine,)  the  'moth'  and 
other  '  killers '  are  conspicuous.  In  another  division 
we  find  an  assortment  of  colored  gut  '  leaders,'  one 
of  which,  made  by  Kelly  of  Dublin,  fairly  '  bangs 
Bannagher  ! '  It  tapers  gradually — '  small  by  de- 
grees, and  beautifully  less ' — from  the  loop  which 
attaches  it  to  the  '  casting-line,'  to  the  extreme  point 
on  which  we  should  tie  a  '  gray  palmer,'  or  a  '  green 
drake,'  according  to  the  state  of  the  water.  It  is  stained 
with  onion  juice  to  the  delicate  hue  of  a  blush  on  a 
cheek  of  alabaster.  Two  others,  colored  in  masterly 
style  by  Mr.  Emmett  himself  with  tea,  are  perfect 
loves  in  their  way,  and  there  is  one  more,  made  by 
Eather  Levins,  which  to  our  eye  is  as  precious  as  the 
'rich  jewel  in  an  Q^thiop's  ear.'  Last  of  all,  in  a 
cover  of  parchment,  we  find  an  assortment  of  Lim- 


LITE   OF   WILLIAISI   T.    POKTEK.  243 

erick  hooks  of  O'Shauglinessey's  bend,  and  Kirby 
hooks  of  the  '  Sneck  '  bend,  neither  variety  of  which 
can  be  purchased  in  the  United  States." 

Li  the  October  number  of  the  "  American  Turf 
Register  "  of  1840,  is  given  an  "  American  Hunter's 
Camp  "  from  the  graphic  pencil  of  the  lamented 
Rindisbacher ;  it  is  spirited  and  faithful  to  a  degree. 
The  attitudes  of  the  hounds  are  full  of  meaning  and 
expression,  as  well  as  those  of  the  two  hunters ;  all 
the  accessories  of  the  sketch  are  in  felicitous  keeping. 

"  In  the  '  Backwoods '  of  this  country,"  Mr.  Porter 
writes, "  a  hunter's  camp  is  usually  covered  with  spruce 
slabs  or  bark,  while  the  bed  is  comprised  of  cedar 
sprigs,  shin-hemlock  or  brush,  over  which  the  hunter 
spreads  his  blanket.  Two  years  since,  in  a  sporting 
trip  to  a  remote  section  of  the  country,  we  frequently 
enjoyed  the  novelty  of  sleeping  in  a  '  camp ' — the 
work  of  half  an  hour — for  nearly  a  week  together,  and 
contrived  to  make  them  warm  and  comfortable.  First, 
we  cut  two  crotched  sticks,  six  feet  long,  and  after 
sharpening  their  points,  drove  them  into  the  ground 
as  supporters  of  the  fabric  ;  across  these  were  laid  the 
three  string-pieces  comprising  the  frame,  the  ends  of 
two  of  them  being  securely  fixed  iu  the  ground. 
Instead  of  splitting  spruce  planks  for  a  roof — an  opera- 
tion of  a  few  minutes  only — we  peeled  the  bark  of 
that  tree,  and  turning  the  smooth  side  upwards,  (lap- 
ping the  pieces,)  made  the  covering  water-tight. 
When  spruce  will  not  peel,  the  balsam-fir  and  half  a 
dozen  other  trees  ofler  a  substitute.     For  the  sides  we 


244  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTEE. 

interlaced  the  bircli  and  witch-liopple,  and  afterwards 
covered  the  whole  with  the  tops  of  young  trees  of 
luxuriant  foliage.  Sprigs  of  cedar  or  hemlock  make 
a  soft,  dry  and  fragrant  bed,  on  which,  after  a  good 
day's  sport,  one  can  enjoy  such  a  night's  rest  as  Sancho 
Panza  never  dreamed  of,  when  he  invoked  blessings 
on  him  who  first  invented  sleep  !  The  choice  of  site, 
which  should  be  near  a  spring,  and  location  of  the  fir, 
etc.,  depend  upon  circumstances.  With  no  other 
instrument  than  a  small  axe,  a  backwoodsman  can 
knock  up  a  camp  large  enough  to  accommodate  half  a 
dozen  most  comfortably  in  half  an  hour." 


CHAPTER   IX. 

The  nineteenth  volume  was  begun  witli  every 
prospect  of  unsurpassed  prosperity.  The  number  of 
contributors  had  doubled  within  the  eighteen  months 
previous,  while  daily  accessions  were  made  to  the  al- 
ready long  list  of  suljscribers  in  all  parts  of  the  globe. 
The  "  Spirit "  at  this  time  had  a  foreign  circulation 
unequalled  by  any  other  paper  in  the  United  States  ; 
it  had  found  its  way  into  all  the  European  capitals, 
into  the  East  and  West  Indies,  and  was  read  with  as 
much  gout  at  Canton,  Batavia,  Sydney  and  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  as  at  home ;  and  what  is  far  more  re- 
markable, among  his  subscribers  were  several  of  our 
native  Indians  !  This  volume,  as  was  the  twentieth, 
was  stocked  with  an  unusual  variety  of  amusing  and 
instructive  matter,  and  Mr.  Porter  wrote  : 

"  As  for  the  Editor,  who,  being  a  bachelor,  ac- 
knowledges to  the  shady  side  of  thirty,  there  or  there- 
abouts, it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  some  of  his  ju- 
venile friends  to  state  that  he  commenced  this  paper 
so  long  ago  as  the  10th  of  December,  1831,  and  has 
since  gone  on  his  way  rejoicing,"  etc. 


'246  LIFE   OF   AVILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

"VVe  may  add  that  lie  went  out  of  his  way  in 
1849,  when  the  preceding  paragraph  was  penned, 
and  varied  the  routine  of  editorial  labor  by  a 
visit  to  Boston,  where  he  was  welcomed  by  enthusi- 
astic friends  to  the  quiet  attractions  of  their  firesides, 
and  in  due  time  complimented  by  a  formal  dinner  at 
the  Ilorfolk  House.  Not  long  after  his  return  to  New 
York  he  began  to  feel  the  first  symj^toms  of  gout,  soon 
to  become  a  fixed  torment  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

All  went  well  among  the  brothers,  and  the  future 
looked  particularly  encouraging,  when  the  telegraph 
announced  the  sad  intelligence  of  the  death  of  George 
Porter.  A  letter  from  Frank  addressed  to  his  sisters 
in  relation  to  the  event  demands  an  insertion  as  an 
act  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  those  two  loving  bro- 
thers : 

"  New  Oeleans,  Mmj  26,  1849. 
"  To  Maettia  and  Sarah  : 

"  The  wires  of  the  telegraph  have  long  ere  this  revealed  to 
you  the  dreadful  news  that  this  sad  letter  contains. 

"  Our  dear  George  rests  quiet  from  all  his  toils  and  troubles, 
and  his  spirit  is  at  peace.  He  died  at  the  St.  Charles  Hotel  on 
the  morning  of  the  24th  inst.,  and  was  buried  from  there  in  the 
Lafayette  Cemetery  the  same  afternoon.  He  complained  of  slight 
illness  on  the  16th,  but  did  not  finally  stop  work  until  the  18th. 
His  disease  was  jaundice,  caused  by  a  morbid,  bad  state  of  the 
liver,  producing  severe  bilious  fever,  jaundice,  brain  fever  and 
death.  His  principal  physician  was  Dr.  McCormick,  of  the  army, 
a  man  of  the  highest  standing  and  a  personal  friend.  Dr.  Wed- 
derburn  was  also  called  in.  He  was  not  considered  in  the  least 
degree  in  a  dangerous  state  by  his  friends  until  within  twelve 
hours  of  his  death,  when  a  sudden  change  took  place.  He  at 
once  became  highly  delirious,  but  soon  afterwards  unconscious 
and  speechless.     He  lay  in  this  manner  until  near  four  o'clock 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  247 

in  the  morning,  wlien  he  quietly  breathed  his  last.  Thus  sud- 
denly passed  away  all  of  poor  George.  Doctors,  nurses,  friends, 
servants  and  every  available'  means  were  at  hand,  but  all  to  no 
purpose.  Dr.  McCormick  informs  me  that  he  now  thinks  that 
the  disease  from  the  first  day  of  his  sickness  had  pervaded  his 
system,  and  taken  such  strong  and  firm  grasp  that  nothing  could 
have  saved  him.  It  no  doubt  had  long  before  fastened  upon  him 
its  deadly  grasp,  and  had  worked  its  way  insidiously  when 
he  was  in  apparent  health.  His  general  health  had  been  un- 
usually good,  and  his  friends  had  congratulated  him  upon  look- 
ing better  than  at  any  time  during  his  residence  in  Louisiana. 
His  habits  were  very  abstemious,  and  though  very  hard  at  work, 
he  was  cheerful.  He  at  no  moment,  in  my  opinion,  had  the  least 
idea  that  death  was  near  him. 

"  The  spot  where  we  laid  him  is  one  that  would  have  well 
suited  his  own  taste,  even  if  the  present  high  water  had  not  cut 
off  the  route  to  a  different  one.  It  is  in  the  city  of  Lafayette,  ad- 
joining New  Orleans,  and  is  the  highest  land  in  the  neighbor- 
hood ;  full  of  trees,  quiet  and  free  from  all  confusion  of  business, 
and  his  particular  vault  is  the  highest  of  a  high  tier.  There,  be- 
neath the  luxurious  growth  of  that  vegetation  of  which  he  was 
so  fond,  and  upon  the  very  banks  of  the  mighty  river  whose 
swift  but  silent  grandeur  so  awed  his  spirit,  let  him  lie. 

"  The  funeral  was  very  large,  and  of  a  peculiar  character.  I 
never  before  had  an  idea  of  the  esteem  and  love  so  many  bore 
him.  The  Eev.  Mr.  Clapp  oflficiated.  He  was  a  personal  friend 
and  admirer  of  George ;  the  publication  of  his  sermons  in  the 
Picayune  had  brought  them  into  frequent  intercourse. 

"  Thus  all  is  over,  and  now  I  am  alone.  I  am  sitting  at  his 
own  table  m  the  '  Picayune '  office,  by  the  side  of  his  favorite  win- 
dow, in  his  chair,  my  feet  on  his  old  stool,  his  favorite  pen  in 
my  hand.  It  is  wonderful  that  I  am  alive  after  the  events  of  the 
last  few  days  ;  life  to  me  has  no  aim  or  object.  I  came  here  to 
be  with  him,  and  now  he  is  gone.  No  one  knew  him  besides 
myself ;  I  knew  his  outgoings  and  incomings.  There  was  a  tie 
between  us  most  singular,  although  not  always  apparent.  It  is 
useless  for  me  to  explain  or  to  add  any  thing." 


2-iS  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T,    PORTER. 

Thus  passed  away  anotlier  of  this  band  of  broth- 
ers, who  liad  achieved  a  reputation  in  a  path  of  use- 
fuhiess  for  which  he  had  no  sj^ecial  attachment. 

"  What  now,  alas !  that  life-diffusing  charm 
Of  sprightly  wit  ?  that  rapture  for  the  muse, 
That  heart  of  friendship,  and  that  soul  of  joy, 
Which  bade  with  softest  light  thy  virtues  smile? 
Ah  I  only  show'd  to  check  our  fond  pursuits, 
And  teach  our  humbled  hopes  that  life  is  vain !  " 

The  elder  sister  of  the  family,  Mrs,  Paine,  passed 
a  Manter  in  IsTew  Orleans  with  her  brothers,  and  we 
insert  a  portion  of  one  of  her  recent  letters,  which 
contains  an  especial  reference  to  George  : 

"He  was  the  cleverest  of  the  brothers,  the  most  schol- 
arly, and  had  the  most  common-sense.  Added  to  his  literary 
tastes  was  an  eminently  practical  talent,  and  he  was  capable  of 
long-continued  and  intense  labor.  During  the  seven  years  he 
was  editor  of  the  '  Picayune,'  he  never  had  a  week's  relaxation 
ut  a  time,  and  sometimes  during  the  Mexican  war  was  the  only 
man  in  the  office  for  weeks  together.  Besides  fulfilling  his  du- 
ties as  editor,  he  found  time  for  extensive  reading,  and  he  was 
far  advanced  in  modern  notions  of  philosophy,  religion  and  re- 
form." 

Professor  S.  G.  Brown  of  Dartmouth  College,  a 
classmate  of  George  Porter,  thus  writes  of  him  to  Mrs. 
Brinley : 

"  From  my  early  boyhood,  as  you  know,  until  we  graduated, 
George  was  my  companion  and  friend.  Afterwards  our  paths 
separated,  and  I  saw  comparatively  little  of  him,  but  always  fol- 
lowed his  course  with  great  interest.  I  have  indeed  only  this 
very  day  returned  from  Haverhill,  where  I  again  ran  over  tho 
orchards  and  pastures  in  which  wo  used  to  play  together,  and  the 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  249 

hills  down  Avhich  we  used  to  slide,  and  sat  iipon  the  very  benches 
where  more  than  thirty  years  ago  we  studied  Virgil  and  Cicero 
under  the  instruction  of  Mr.  Mack.  George  had  a  very  vigorous 
and  active  mind.  He  was  enterprising  and  somewhat  ambitious, 
and  successful.  At  Meriden,  before  he  was  thirteen,  he  gave 
an  oration  before  a  little  society,  of  which  we  were  members,  on 
Eloquence.  I  thought  it  was  a  very  good  one,  and  I  am  sure  it 
spread  his  fame  as  far  as  twelve  miles,  for  I  remember  hearing  it 
talked  about  in  Hanover.  We  always  met  in  George's  room, 
where  we  had  a  little  stage  erected  for  the  use  of  the  orators ; 
and  I  presume  none  of  us  have  ever  had  more  satisfactory  tri- 
umphs than  in  that  little  room,  with  an  audience  of  a  dozen 
boys.  George  was  very  fond  of  speaking,  and  declaimed  with 
great  beauty.  This  was  true  at  Haverhill.  I  remember  now  his 
speaking  '  The  Sailor  Boy '  at  Meriden,  and  in  college,  where 
he  carried  away  several  prizes.  He  was  a  very  good  writer,  and 
often  distinguished  himself  by  the  excellence  of  his  compositions. 
His  mind  was  quick  and  tenacious ;  he  learned  with  great  facili- 
ty, and  had  his  knowledge  much  at  command.  I  should  think  he 
was  more  fond  of  languages  than  of  mathematics.  He  was  in- 
terested in  the  study  of  history,  of  which,  while  in  college,  he 
had  marked  out  for  himself  a  pretty  extensive  course  of  reading, 
I  always  prophesied  eminence  for  him  in  his  profession,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  if  he  had  devoted  himself  to  it  with  half  the  per- 
sistency with  which  many  pursue  it,  he  would  not  only  have  been 
distinguished,  but  very  much  so.  I  never  knew  the  reason  of 
his  giving  it  up,  but  it  always  seemed  to  me  that  in  doing  so  he 
made  a  mistake.  He  must  have  become  eminent  as  an  advocate, 
and  his  sagacity  and  practical  good  judgment  and  acuteness 
would  have  found  ample  scope  and  abundant  reward.  His  re- 
moving from  New  England,  and  still  more  from  New  York, 
seemed  to  me  much  like  a  personal  loss." 

There  are  few  persons  who  saw  and  heard  George 
speak  in  public  at  the  time  he  won  his  prizes  for  de- 
clamation in  his  college  days,  who  did  not  prophesy 
11* 


250  LITE   OF   WILLIAJSI   T.    PORTER. 

that  the  forum  was  destined  to  be  the  true  sphere  for 
the  exercise  of  his  oratorical  talent ;  and  no  one  with 
more  sanguine  expectation  than  his  keen-eyed  old 
uncle,  who  had  watched  him  from  the  start,  advising 
and  guiding  him  with  the  tenderness  and  devotion  of 
a  father,  selecting  always  the  themes  best  suited  for 
his  elocutionary  displays,  and  at  all  times  forcing  into 
vigor  and  breadth  his  youthful  faculties,  with  a  tact 
which  it  is  well  known  few  possessed  in  a  more  re- 
markable degree  than  Mr,  Olcott. 

The  New  Orleans  Press  was  unanimous  in  ex- 
pressions of  regret  at  the  loss  of  their  favorite  and  re- 
spected associate. 

"  Common  eulogy,"  writes  the  "  Picayune,"  "  on  his  merits 
fis  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar  would  be  a  faint  tribute  on  our  part. 
Innumerable  testimonies  of  the  exalted  position  he  occupied  in 
both  these  distinctions  exist  beyond  the  limited  circle  of  this  of- 
fice, in  written  characters,  the  production  of  his  vigorous  un- 
derstanding, and  in  sorrowing  hearts  that  bleed  spontaneously 
as  memory  recalls  his  polished  manners,  his  undeviating  urbanity, 
his  warm  and  generous  nature.  Mr.  Porter  was  a  fine  specimen 
of  an  American  gentleman.  His  mind,  which  was  richly  endow- 
ed by  nature,  had  received  a  careful  academical  training,  and 
considerable  intercourse  with  the  world  enabled  him  to  seize 
character  at  a  glance.  These  circumstances  gave  him  a  grasp 
of  intellect  that  conspicuously  displayed  itself  in  every  thing  he 
Avrote,  evincing  that  manly  vigor  of  thought  and  that  accuracy 
of  judgment  which  are  invaluable  in  the  journalist,  Avho  has  the 
laudable  ambition  of  acting  up  to  the  full  dignity  of  his  mission. 
As  for  his  private  virtues,  we  make  this  simple  record :  We  have 
yet  to  know  the  created  being  that  ever  manifested  hostility  to 
him  in  word  or  deed.  Indeed,  so  unobtrusive  were  his  manners, 
so  gentle  was  ho  in  character,  that  the  contrast  between  liis  ca- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAJM   T.    POKTEK.  251 

pacity  and  his  jn-etensions  forced  itself  iavoluutarily  on  all  wlio 
came  within  the  sphere  of  his  action.  lie  was  emphatically — to 
borrow  a  line  from  the  beautiful  record  of  the  poet  Gay — 

'In  wit  a  man,  simplicity  a  child.' 


"  It  has  been  said  that  the  best  monument  of  a  writer's  fame 
is  the  work  of  his  brain.  Were  the  labors  of  the  journalist  of  a 
character  less  ephemeral,  less  evanescent  than  they  necessarily 
are — the  echo  as  it  were  of  a  sound  borne  to  the  ear  in  the  pass- 
ing breeze — we  might,  in  pride  of  our  deceased  colleague's  high 
intelligence,  pure  philanthropy,  refined  taste  and  sparkling  wit, 
point  to  our  files  for  the  last  seven  years  as  the  most  lasting 
mementos  of  his  worth.    Peace  to  his  manes  !  " 

The  "  Crescent "  thus  feelingly  chronicles  his 
death : 

"  "We  were  yesterday  called  on  to  consign  to  the  grave  the 
mortal  remains  of  one  who  but  a  few  days  ago  was  full  of  life 
and  vigor  and  activity.  But  a  short  time  previous  to  his  decease, 
the  fi'iends  of  Mr.  Porter  had  no  idea  of  his  approaching  death. 
And  now  that  he  is  gone — now  that  the  face  once  beaming  with 
intelligence  and  fine  feeling  has  disappeared — it  is  hard  to  realize 
the  thought  that  we  shall  see  no  more  of  him  who  was  but  yes- 
terday the  amiable  companion  and  the  attached  friend. 

"  To  the  immediate  friends  and  acquaintances  of  Mr.  Porter,  it 
is  useless  to  say  how  much  they  have  lost  in  losing  him  whom 
they  yesterday  buried.  To  know  him  was  to  respect — nay, 
almost  to  love  him.  Even  the  casual  acquaintance  felt  bound, 
by  no  ordinary  tie,  to  one  who  carried  his  heart  in  his  hand,  and 
whose  free,  open,  generous  nature  attracted  the  aifection  of 
whoever  approached  him.  The  friends  of  the  deceased  can 
appreciate  those  virtues  which  are  rarely  known  except  to  a 
man's  intimate  acquaintances — the  sensibility  and  delicacy  of 
feeling  almost  feminine,  joined  to  an  elevation  of  sentiment  ana 


252  LIFE   OF   WILLIAISI   T.    rOETEK. 

strength  of  will  that  were  possessed  by  few  men.  But  the  New 
Orleans  piiblic  are  hardly  aware  of  the  loss  they  have  sustained  in 
the  death  of  Mr.  Porter.  His  usefulness  to  the  community  was 
known  to  but  few,  for  his  influence  was  of  the  sort  which  is  felt, 
and  not  seen. 

"  Mr.  Porter  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  had  studied  law  in 
New  York ;  but  for  the  last  seven  or  eight  years  he  was  a  resi- 
dent of  New  Orleans,  and  has  been,  during  that  time,  the  asso- 
ciate editor  of  the  Picayune  newspaper.  As  his  name  never 
appeared  in  that  journal,  its  numerous  readers  were  not  cogni- 
zant of  how  much  they  owed  to  ^r.  Porter's  industry,  energy 
and  intelligence.  With  a  zeal  that  seemed  imbounded,  and  a 
will  that  appeared  unyielding,  he  devoted  himself  to  his  arduous 
duties  as  if  taking  pleasure  in  labor,  and  seeking  constant  em- 
ployment for  the  acute  and  active  intellectual  powers  with 
which  he  was  endowed.  He  never  relaxed  his  efforts  to  instruct 
and  please  the  public  ;  and,  with  a  generosity  careless  of  praise 
and  reward,  he  studied  only  how  to  make  himself  useful  to  the 
community  in  which  he  had  cast  his  lot. 

"  He  has  gone ! — the  mind  that  has  been  so  active  for  the  good 
of  others,  has  departed  from  our  midst !  But  such  a  man  cannot 
soon  be  forgotten ;  nor  will  his  place  be  easily  supplied.  The 
heart  that  has  so  often  beat  in  sympathy  with  the  feelings  of 
others  is  still ;  the  brain  that  was  so  constant  in  its  efforts  for 
others'  good,  has  ceased  from  its  labors.  But  it  will  be  long  be- 
fore the  memory  of  George  Porter  will  escape  from  the  hearts 
and  minds  of  his  friends,  and  of  those  who,  without  being  per- 
sonally acquainted  with  him,  were  cognizant  of  his  many  virtues 
and  extensive  capacity." 

The  "  Daily  Bee,"  in  allusion  to  his  scholarship, 

says : 

"  He  possessed  enormous  industry,  great  readiness  and  tact, 
and  a  capability  of  endurance  in  the  ceaseless  round  of  his  labors 
that  few  men  exhibit. 

"  There  was  not  a  particle  of  acerbity  in  his  character.    His  pen 


LIFE    OF   WILLIAM   T.    I'ORTEK.  253 

nevei'  distilled  gall,  for  bitterness  was  an  element  unknown  in 
his  kindly  and  genial  organization.  He  has  left  hosts  of  friends 
to  mourn  his  death,  with  a  sorrow  that  will  ever  be  associated 
with  the  memory  of  as  gentle  a  spirit  as  ever  toiled  in  the 
thankless  travail  of  journalism. 

"  The  funeral  of  Mr.  Porter  took  place  yesterday  afternoon, 
and  his  mortal  remains  were  attended  to  their  earthly  resting- 
place  by  a  large  concourse,  mainly  consisting  of  friends  whose 
attachment  had  been  won  by  the  endearing  qualities  of  the  de- 
ceased. He  was  interred  at  Lafayette  Cemetery,  and  in  that 
receptacle  of  the  dead  there  sleeps  not  a  nobler  spirit  than  ani- 
mated the  soul  of  him  whom,  Avith  imposing  and  affecting 
ceremonies,  we  saw  deposited  in  the  silent  habitation  of  the 
departed." 

"  Among  the  many  toucliing  and  most  grateful  let- 
ters of  condolence  wliicli  we  have  received  this  week," 
writes  the  Editor  of  the  "  Spirit,"  "  is  the  following 
from  the  pen  of  William  H.  Herbert :" 

"  My  Dear  Poetek — It  is  with  something  of  reluctance  that 
I  intrude  upon  Avhat  some  persons  might  consider  a  private 
matter  and  one  unfitted  for  notice  in  your  columns — I  mean  the 
death  of  my  esteemed  friend  and  your  beloved  brother  Geoege  ; 
but  I  have  been  determined  not  to  allow  any  fastidious  delicacy 
to  prevent  my  offering  my  tribute  of  affectionate  homage  to  the 
memory  of  one  whom  I  truly  and  sincerely  regarded  both  in  a 
private  and  public  capacity. 

"  There  is  the  more  fitness  in  this,  that  but  for  Geoege  Poeteb 
there  would  never  have  been,  so  far  as  the  world  is  concerned, 
any  Fkank  Foeester  to  pen  these  brief  lines  as  a  testimony  to 
his  amiable  qualities  and  his  high  talents. 

"It  was,  as  you  well  remember,  I  doubt  not,  during  one  of 
your  protracted  visits  to  the  South,  while  George  was  ino  tem- 
pore in  command  of  the  '  Spirit,'  that,  as  much  at  his  sugges- 
tion as  in  consequence  of  my  own  views  on  the  subject,  I  adopted 


254  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTER. 

that  signature  as  in  some  sort  typical  of  the  craft  and  charactei 
of  a  sportsman,  in  connection  with  a  series  of  papers  intended  to 
popuhirize  sportsmanship,  and  to  divest  it,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
many,  from  the  prestige  of  brutality  and  rudeness  with  which  it 
seemed  to  be  invested. 

"  How  far  those  papers  were  successful  this  is  not  the  time, 
nor  am  I  the  person,  to  state,  but  the  name  has  become  so  far 
current  with  the  readers  of  the  '  Spirit,'  that  I  do  not  fear 
being  considered  intrusive  or  impertinent  in  addressing  a  few 
lines  to  you  on  this  painful  subject, 

"  Few  words  have  I  to  say  beyond  this,  that  in  an  acquaint- 
ance which  began  years  ago,  prior,  I  think,  to  any  intimacy 
between  you  and  myself,  which  has  endured,  imaltered  by  time, 
and  enhanced,  perhaps,  rather  than  diminished,  by  absence,  I 
have  seen,  heard  or  known  no  one  incident  of  his  life,  no  one 
point  of  his  career,  which  I  would  have  desired  to  see  changed 
in  my  own  brother ;  that  all  has  proved  him  the  kind,  consid- 
erate, honorable  gentleman,  the  man  of  energy  and  talent,  whom 
none  knew  but  to  love  and  praise. 

"  Honor  and  respect  in  life  he  had,  and  now  is  at  peace — where 
may  we  all  have  cause  to  rest  as  well — in  the  quiet  repose  of  an 
honorable  grave. 

"  Your  sincere  friend,  Fkank  Foeestee. 

"  The  Cedaes,  1st  June." 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1852,  both 
William  and  the  "  Doctor  "  were  hard  at  work  in 
their  several  spheres  of  dnty,  with  a  fair  prospect  of 
years  of  useful  life.  On  New  Year's  Day  the  "  Doc- 
tor "  made  a  round  of  visits,  and  was  often  compli- 
mented on  his  fine  health  and  exuberant  spirits.  It 
was  cold  and  damp,  and  the  sudden  transitions  from 
the  heat  of  crowded  drawing-rooms  to  the  penetrating 
chilliness  of  the  external  air,  brought  on  an  acute  ill- 
ness, which  soon  became  irremediable ;   and  on  the 


LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  255 

sixth  of  the  month  he  placidly  fell  asleep  in  the  arms 
of  death,  before  his  relatives  were  aware  of  his  illness. 
His  funeral  took  place  on  the  eighth  of  the  month 
from  Grace  Church,  from  whence  he  was  borne  to 
Greenwood,  and  deposited  in  the  lot  which  he  had 
selected  the  year  previous  for  the  last  resting-place  of 
himself  and  brothers.  On  the  Saturday  following  his 
death,  an  obituary  notice  of  him  appeared  in  "  The 
Spirit  of  the  Times,"  from  the  pen  of  his  accomplished 
friend  William  Henry  Herbert,  who,  from  long  ac- 
quaintance and  a  generous  appreciation  of  Doctor  Por- 
ter, was  admirably  qualified  to  breathe  a  last  tribute 
to  his  memory : 

'  Qnis  desiderio  sit  pudor  aut  modus 
Tarn  cari  capitis. 

"  On  Tuesday,  January  6tli,  dierl,  at  his  residence  in  this  city^ 
after  a  very  few  days'  illness,  Dr,  T.  Olcott  Porter,  in  the  49th 
year  of  his  age  ;  in  the  fullness  of  his  intellectual  capacities  and 
the  vigor  of  his  mature  manhood,  taken  away  from  the  large 
circle  of  friends,  who  truly  loved  him  as  a  brother,  by  a  disease 
so  sudden  and  insidious,  that  many  of  those  who  cherished  his 
intimacy  the  most  closely  learned  only  that  he  was  indisposed  at 
all,  by  the  lamentable  tidings  that  he  would  be  indisposed  no 
more  forever. 

"  To  descant  largely  upon  the  character  and  qualities  of  him 
who  has  been  so  suddenly  removed  from  us,  to  the  readers  of 
this  paper,  would  seem  almost  a  work  of  supererogation,  so  well 
and  widely  was  he  known  ;  still,  there  are  doubtless  many  who 
will  be  pleased  to  have  a  brief  memorial  of  the  circumstances  of 
his  happy  and  blameless  life,  which  they  may  preserve  and  lay 
by  as  something  tangible  and  real,  of  one  concerning  whom  it 
may  be  said,  more  truly  than  of  almost  any  other  mortal  man — 

" '  None  knew  him  but  to  love, 
None  named  him  but  to  praise.' 


256  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM    T.    POETER. 

"Again,  it  has  been  urged  that  to  dwell  long  upon  the  praises 
of  the  dead  is,  in  the  first  place,  in  bad  taste  toward  the  living, 
and,  in  the  second,  oftentimes  injurious  to  the  memory  of  the 
departed,  by  stirring  up  an  envious  feeling  in  the  breast  of 
others,  like  that  which  led  the  Athenian  to  ostracize  Aristides, 
merely  because  he  was  aweary  of  hearing  him  ever  called  the 
Just.  As  to  the  former  of  these  arguments,  we  have  only  to  re- 
ply, that  this  is  intended  as  no  proud  or  boastful  enumeration  of 
high  qualities  and  splendid  deeds,  but  as  an  humble  and  sincere 
tribute  to  the  calm  and  unobtrusive  virtues  of  a  peaceful  and 
well-spent  private  life,  endearing  the  deceased  to  all  who  came 
within  the  sphere  of  his  attraction.  As  to  the  latter,  the  writer 
of  this  unpretending  record  has  no  fears,  for  of  the  late  Dr. 
PoETEE  alone,  of  all  the  men  he  has  ever  seen  or  heard  of,  it  may 
be  emphatically  asserted,  that  he  never  had  an  enemy.  In  a 
close  and  uninterrupted  friendship  of  above  eighteen  years,  he 
who  writes  this,  not  as  a  labored  eulogy,  but  as  the  simple  out- 
pouring of  a  wounded  heart,  never  once  heard  one  unkind  or 
uncharitable  expression  concerning  any  living  being  fall  from 
those  lips,  now  so  cold  and  silent,  which,  while  life  warmed 
them,  were  ever  literally  overflowing  with  the  milk  of  human 
kindness. 

"  Dr.  Porter  was  born  in  the  town  of  Newbury,  in  Vermont ; 
was  educated  at  Dartmouth  College,  in  New  Hampshire,  where 
he  graduated  with  distinction  and  high  promise  in  the  lluman- 
ities.  He  afterward  studied  and  practised  medicine  for  some 
short  space  of  time,  but  subsequently  retiring  from  his  profes- 
sion, devoted  the  last  eighteen  years  of  his  life  to  literary  pur- 
suits in  this  city,  during  the  whole  of  which  period  the  writer 
has  known  and  loved  him  as  a  brother,  and  received  from  him 
all  a  brother's  kindness.  Many  readers  will  remember  him  as 
connected  with  Mr.  K  P.  "Willis  in  the  conduct  of  the  '  Cor- 
sair ' — probably  the  best  literary  journal  ever  published  in  New 
York — which  was  in  fact  wholly  under  his  editorial  control, 
owing  its  excellence  to  his  unassisted  abilities ;  since  his  co-edi- 
tor was  absent  in  Europe  during  nearly  the  whole  term  of  its 
existence.     He  was,  moreover,  for  many  yeai's  an  occasional  con- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIA5I   T.    PORTER.  257 

tributor  to  the  columns  of  this  paper,  and  as  such  was  well 
known  generally  to  all  its  readers,  and  personally  to  nearly  all 
its  correspondents  and  contributors.  For  many  years  he  had 
been  connected  with  Mons.  Coudert,  in  the  management  of  a 
large  and  excellent  school  in  this  city,  patiently  practising  a 
thankless  and  ill-rewarded  profession,  for  which  the  clear  sin- 
cerity of  his  mind,  his  equable  and  foresighted  intellect,  his  fine 
taste  and  large  reading,  and,  above  all,  his  imperturbable  good 
temper  and  unvarying  kindness  of  heart,  singularly  qualified  him.* 
"  lie  was  a  man  who  might  have  been  great  by  the  exertion  and 
display  of  his  talents,  which  were  of  a  high  order,  but  that  he 
was  one  who  preferred  being  loved  to  being  admired ;  who  was 
born  to  be  the  idol  of  a  circle,  rather  than  the  wonder  of  a 
sphere.  His  reading  was  varied  and  extensive  ;  and,  particu- 
larly in  the  ancient  English  authors,  he  was  an  elegant  and 
finished  scholar ;  an  excellent  classic,  a  thorough  and  judicious 
historian,  his  criticism,  for  which  his  independence,  clearness  of 
perception,  and  candor,  rarely  qualified  him,  was  of  the  highest 
order  ;  and  we  can  say  sincerely  that  there  were  few  men  living 
to  whose  judgment  we  would  more  readily  have  resigned  our 
own,  as  to  the  merits  or  defects  of  a  new  book,  a  new  actor  or  a 
new  drama — nor  any  by  whom  we  should  have  been  more  proud 
to  be  praised,  than  he  whom  we  now  deplore. 

"The  characteristics  of  his  intellectual  abilities  were  elegance, 
ease  and  polish,  clear  judgment,  fine  taste,  and  high  apprecia- 
tion of  all  that  is  beautiful  and  true,  in  letters,  art  and  science. 

*  Mr.  Coudert  had  been  ill  for  several  weeks  previous  to  the  siclj> 
ness  of  the  Doctor,  and  the  anxieties  of  the  latter  concerning  the  school 
■when  he  too  became  confined  to  his  chamber,  were  very  much  in- 
creased. The  day  before  the  death  of  Dr.  Porter,  Mr.  Coudert  sent 
his  eldest  son  with  a  kind  message  concerning  his  health  ;  to  his  sui'- 
prise,  he  found  the  Doctor  up,  and  partly  dressed,  feeble  as  he  was. 
He  was  greatly  attached  to  the  Doctor,  and  perceiving  his  extreme 
prostration,  urged  him  to  return  to  his  bed.  "  No,"  rejoined  the  Doc- 
tor, "  tell  your  father  that  I  do  not  intend  to  shirk  my  duty."  But  he 
was  exhausted  by  the  effort,  and  from  sheer  debility  was  reluctantly 
obliged  to  follow  the  advice  of  his  young  friend. 


258  LIFE   OF   -WILLDVM   T.    POKTEK. 

Of  Lis  moral  qualities  the  most  remarkable  were,  that  regular 
benignity,  which  was  written  on  his  fine  face  by  the  hand  of 
God,  as  if  by  the  fingers  of  man  in  a  book,  that  perfect  truth- 
fulness, candor,  affection  to  his  friends,  and  charity — in  its  most 
extended  sense — toward  all  mankind,  which  literally  caused 
every  one  who  knew  him  to  love  him,  and  which  will  call  tears 
from  many  an  eye  unused  to  weep,  and  awaken  regrets  in  many 
a  far-distant  heart.  "Woe !  woe  I  for  thee,  my  brother  and  my 
friend !  He  died,  as  he  had  lived,  so  placidly  and  easily,  that 
the  change  from  time  to  eternity  was  scarce  perceptible  to 
those  who  watched  beside  him,  probably  scarce  perceived  by 
himself,  until  he  awoke  from  the  sleep  of  life  to  know  himself 
immortal. 

"  He  is  one  of  the  few,  the  very  few,  for  whom  there  is  no  fear 
— for  whom  Hope  is  all — Hope  alone — certain  as  truth  and 
Heaven. 

"  To  say  that  he  never  did  evil  to  a  living  thing,  is  to  say 
nothing !  For  we  verily  believe,  if  it  may  be  believed  of  any 
mortal  man,  that  he  never  even  thought  evil  of  his  neighbor. 
Eest  is  for  the  dead,  and  peace  and  happiness  immortal :  for 
those  who  remain  behind,  the  weariness  of  memory,  the  loneli- 
ness of  regret,  the  yearning  for  the  untimely  lost,  which  wiU  not 
pass  away  until  life  itself  shall  have  passed  through  the  darkness 
of  the  grave,  into  the  light  of  immortality. 

"Happy  they  who  live  as  he  lived — who  shall  die  as  he  died 
— for  if  many  a  greater  and  many  a  wiser  man  has  blazed  upon 
the  world,  and  died  and  been  forgotten — none  kinder,  or  better, 
or  more  beloved,  ever  adorned  or  charmed  a  circle.  None  ever 
left  behind  a  fame  more  piu-e,  a  memory  more  fondly  cherished, 
or  longer  to  be  remembered. 

"  For  hira  we  do  not  pray  for  peace,  since  wherefore  should 
we  doubt  that  he,  whose  whole  life  was  peacefuluess,  hath,  by 
what  we  call  death,  been  removed  only  from  this  mortal  turmoil 
into  the  exceeding  peace  of  the  Lord  ?  Yaleat  in  cBternum 
xaleat  !  " 

111  a  letter  from  William  to  Mrs.  Brinley  of  this 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TORTER.  25\f 

date  lie  says  :  "  The  dear  old  Doctor  is  gone  from  me. 
I  can  do  nothing  to  realize  it.  His  kindness,  his  love, 
his  counsels,  his  very  being,  were  so  interwoven  and 
incorporated  into  all  my  life  and  thoughts,  that  I  am 
bewildered  and  crushed  to  find  him  gone.  The  main 
defence  that  has  stood  by  me  from  boyhood,  which 
seemed  so  stable  and  so  necessary  to  my  well-being, 
is  now  laid  level  forever !  Frank  and  I  are  now  left 
alone  to  battle  on  as  best  we  can  for  the  rest  of  our 
journey." 

We  come  down  to  the  year  1855,  as  the  volumes 
of  the  immediately  preceding  years,  though  sparkling 
with  items  and  amusing  paragraphs  from  the  old 
mint,  do  not  contain  any  very  salient  articles  by  the 
Editor.  His  previous  work  had  been  never-ending, 
and  a  time  had  now  come  when  he  felt  relieved  from 
the  duty  of  getting  up  elaborate  leaders,  by  the 
continual  flow  of  admirable  contributions  from  gifted 
correspondents  ;  and  never  was  mental  repose  so  ne- 
cessary and  so  grateful  to  him,  for  the  bright  advent 
of  the  New  Year  was  soon  shrouded  by  the  death  of 
Frank,  the  youngest  and  the  pet  of  the  brothers,  and 
who  had  been  attached  to  the  "  ISTew  Orleans  Pica- 
yune "  for  some  seven  years,  during  all  which  time  his 
course  was  marked  by  signal  and  ever-increasing  ability. 
His  labors  were  exceedingly  onerous,  in  view  of  his 
impaired  health,  and  though  scrupulously  performed, 
his  heart  was  not  in  them  after  the  death  of  George. 
A.  voyage  to  Europe  was  recommended  to  him,  and 
through  the  aflfectionate  interest  of  Mr.  Holbrook,  the 
chief  of  the  Picayune,  it  was  accomplished,  but  witli- 


260  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEE. 

out  material  advantage  to  the  invalid.  We  extract  a 
few  passages  from  his  letter,  dated  New  Orleans,  the 
1st  of  May,  1854  : 

"  I  am  off  for  Europe  this  evening,  on  board  of  the  clipper 
ship  'Bostonian,'  Oapt.  King.  She  is  a  most  beautiful  vessel, 
of  1098  tons,  entirely  new,  superb  accommodations,  and  I  am  the 
only  passenger,  with  a  large  parlor  state-room  to  myself,  *  *  * 
My  present  intention  is  to  be  absent  five  or  six  months,  and  to 
visit  Liverpool,  London,  Paris,  Marseilles,  perhaps  ^N'aples,  Ven- 
ice, Vienna,  Hamburg,  &c.,  &c.  ;  but  much  will  depend  on 
my  health,  time,  expense,  and  other  matters.  I  will  more  fully 
write  you  of  my  intended  movements  when  in  London  or  Paris. 
Should  ray  health  be  so  bad  in  the  autumn  that  I  tliink  I  should 
not  be  able  to  work  if  I  returned  home,  I  may,  if  I  can  make 
suitable  arrangements,  spend  the  winter  in  the  south  of  Europe, 
and  visit  Constantinople,  &c.,  which  I  much  wish.  Our  paper 
has  now  several  European  correspondents,  and  Mr.  Kendall,  wlio 
lives  with  his  family  in  Paris,  thinks  of  going  to  Constantinople ; 
still  I  shall  probably  write  some,  and  over  my  old  signature  of 
'  Gleaner.' 

"  My  health  and  spirits  are  to-day  good,  for  me ;  my  friends 
have  been  most  kind  and  generous  to  me  in  all  fashions,  and  lots 
of  little  '  fixins  '  have  been  sent  on  board  the  ship  for  my  com- 
fort on  the  voyage.  I  have  worked  long  and  faithfully  for  the 
'  Pic  '  office,  and  my  services  have  been  appreciated  and  gener- 
ously repaid.  The  attachment  of  Mr.  Ilolbrook,  the  principal 
manager  of  the  paper,  to  George,  was  strong,  and  is  so  to  my- 
self, and  I  have  no  other  such  firm  friend  for  life,  who  has  the 
means,  as  himself.  *  *  *  i  visited  dear  George's  grave  a 
few  days  ago,  as  is  my  frequent  pleasure.  My  purest,  dearest, 
and  holiest  recollections  of  life  are  connected  therewith,  and  I 
trust  it  may  be  permitted  me  to  lay  my  bones  beside  him.  Re- 
membrance of  him  and  of  our  sainted  mother  is  much  oftener  in 
my  thoughts  latterly  than  ever  before." 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAItl   T,    PORTEK.  261 

After  liis  return  from  Europe,  lie  wrote  from  New 
Orleans,  January  1st,  1855  : 

"  I  owe  you  many  apologies  foi*  sin?  of  omission  in  not  visit- 
ing or  writing  you,  but  I  so  dislike  to  be  the  bearer  of  bad  news, 
that  I  have  omitted  even  writing — putting  it  off  from  day  to 
day. 

"  My  situation  is  now  truly  sad,  as  my  health  and  strength 
seem  entirely  to  have  forsaken  me,  and  I  am  now  constantly 
confined  to  my  room,  with  what  I  have  too  much  reason  to  be- 
lieve is  a  confirmed  consumption.  My  trip  abroad  did  me  no 
good,  and  as  I  was  laid  up  in  Paris  for  three  weeks,  I  was  weak- 
ened very  much.  Before  I  went  away,  my  physicians  were 
somewhat  divided  as  to  my  disease,  and  my  Paris  physician 
assured  me  that  I  only  had  a  very  bad  chronic  disorder  of  the 
bronchial  tubes.  To  this  idea  I  clung  until  facts  proved  its  in- 
correctness, and  I  find  myself  totally  prostrate. 

"  I  hastened  home  to  renew  my  labors,  but  I  found  on  my 
arrival  here,  that  my  strength  was  not  equal  to  their  perform- 
ance, and  I  gave  a  portion  of  them  up,  retaining  such  as  would 
call  for  the  least  physical  exertion.  One  month's  work  used 
me  up.     *    *     * 

"My  physician  is  Dr.  Wedderstrandt,  as  eminent  a  man, 
particularly  in  diseases  of  the  lungs,  as  any  in  the  country.  Por 
fourteen  years  he  was  the  principal  physician  in  our  great  Charity 
Hospital,  and  has  of  course  had  great  experience.  He  is  also  a  par- 
ticular friend  of  mine,  and  has  taken  much  interest  in  my  case. 
He  has  examined  me  critically,  and  has  pronounced  my  lungs  badly 
affected,  as  indeed  my  constant  and  shocking  cough  now  too  clear- 
ly attests.  *  *  The  Doctor  says:  'Follow  my  advice  strictly,  and 
you  will  be  able  to  meet  the  warm  spring  weather,  when  I  hope 
you  will  improve,  and  obtain  strength  enough  to  move  about  in 
the  open  air.'  I  am  too  much  a  man  of  the  world  not  to  know 
what  all  this  means.  It  is  a  mere  question  of  time,  ^cith  me. 
No  cough  like  mine  can  ever  le  cured.  To  be  thus  confined  in 
the  house,  deprived  of  work,  air,  society  and  excitement,  tasks 


262  LITE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TOKTEK. 

my  fortitude,  while  the  prospect  for  the  future  is  gloomy.  I  am 
now  living  in  the  family  of  my  old  friend,  Madame  Hall,  where 
I  am  well  nursed  and  cared  for ;  which  I  could  not  be  at  the  St. 
Charles  Hotel,  my  former  home.  I  have  a  thousand  minor  ills 
and  troubles ;  but  I  will  not  worry  you  by  relating  them.  I  feel, 
however,  that  I  ought  to  let  you  know  of  my  feeble  and  sad  con- 
dition.    *     *     * 

"  My  trip,  had  my  health  and  strength  not  failed  me,  would 
have  been  delightful.  As  it  was,  I  worked  hard,  and  saw  much 
that  interested  me.  Scarcely  a  place  of  '  high  or  low  degree,' 
in  London  or  Paris,  that  was  famous,  that  I  did  not  visit.  I 
wrote  nothing  while  I  was  absent,  as  I  was  too  busily  employed 
in  sight-seeing ;  but  I  came  home  with  my  mind  well  stored  with 
that  which  would  have  interested  my  friends,  and  been  a  source 
of  pleasing  remembrance  to  me  during  a  long  life.  My  power 
of  observation  and  comparison  never  had  full  scope  before,  and  I 
improved  the  opportunity.  *  *  *  I  saw  all  of  high  life  I 
wished — I  brought  home  many  little  trifles  as  souvenirs  of  some 
of  the  places  I  visited,  which  I  should  have  been  pleased  to  show 
you,  had  an  opportunity  offered.  Many  of  my  most  pleasant 
days  were  spent  in  the  galleries  of  art ;  but  I  thrust  myself  into 
every  species  of  amusement,  gayety,  sumptuous  living,  curiosity 
shop,  palace  and  stable  that  promised  to  repay  me.  In  fact,  what 
I  saw  and  learned,  would  be  of  more  use  to  me  could  I  live  to 
manage  it,  than  all  I  ever  learned  before.  I  never  weary  in 
talking  over  my  adventures  to  my  friends.  *    *    *    * 

"  You  may  think  that  I  write  despondingly,  but  it  is  always 
better  to  look  trouble  full  in  the  face.  I  know  my  own  situation 
better  than  I  can  tell  you,  and  I  feel  assured  that  I  can  only 
linger  out  a  painful  and  troubled  life,  be  the  time  long  or  short. 
I  could  fill  pages  did  I  dare  to  trust  myself  to  speak  of  my  thoughts 
and  feelings,  but  it  would  be  useless. 

"  The  merciful  God  who  has  thus  far  watched  over  me  in  my 
wanderings  and  vicissitudes,  will  not,  I  sincerely  trust,  forsake 
me  in  my  hour  of  need ;  that  he  may  cherish  and  protect  you 
both,  is  the  fervent  wish  of  your  brother 

"  Frank." 


LIFE    OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK.  263 

In  due  course  of  mail,  the  following  letter  was  re- 
ceived, all  but  the  last  sentence  and  signature  being 
in  the  handwriting  of  a  friend  : 

"  New  Orleans,  February  8th,  1855. 

"  To  MY  Sisters — I  am  too  feeble  to  write  to-day,  and  have 
availed  myself  of  the  kindness  of  a  friend,  to  communicate  to 
you.  It  was  a  long  and  dreary  suspense  from  tlie  first  of  Jan- 
uary till  to-day,  when  I  received  Sarah's  letter ;  Martha's  and 
William's  letters  having  reached  me  two  days  previously.  But 
my  confidence  in  her  love  and  sympathy  never  forsook  me ;  I 
knew  that  some  accident  must  have  prevented  an  earlier  reply. 

"  My  health  and  strength  have  rapidly  failed  me  since  I  last 
wrote  you,  and  I  am  now  confined  to  my  bed  by  the  orders  of 
my  physician.  My  cough  of  itself  is  not  very  troublesome,  al- 
though getting  worse  constantly  ;  but  the  many  ills  and  diseases 
brought  on  by  sympathy  with  the  lungs,  are  very  annoying. 

"  I  am  surrounded  by  kind  friends,  who  do  all  in  their  power 
to  make  me  comfortable.  If  I  am  not  able  to  write  myself,  some 
one  else  will  write  you  very  soon.  Your  letters  have  afforded 
me  great  consolation,  and  your  mention  of  domestic  matters  has 
carried  me  back  to  the  days  of  childhood.  I  still  anticipate  great 
pleasure  from  letters  which  must  now  be  on  their  way  from 
you." 

(The  closing  lines  arc  in  Frank's  trembling  hand, 
and  w^ere  the  very  last  ever  written  by  him  :) 

"  God  bless  you,  my  dear  sisters ;  this  is  probably  the  last 
time  I  shall  be  able  to  say  so  to  you.  My  last  thoughts  shall  be 
of  our  mother  and  of  you. 

"  As  ever,  yours, 

"  Fbancis  T.  Poetek." 

The  next  intelligence  was  of  his  death,  on  the  28th 
of  February.     He  was  conscious  to  the  last  moment, 


264:  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POETEK. 

the  almost  inaudible  prayer,  "  May  God  receive  my 
soul,"  trembling  on  bis  lips  as  bis  spirit  took  fligbt. 
He  sleejDS,  as  he  desired,  by  the  side  of  bis  brother 
George. 

When  we  consider  that  his  academic  education 
tenninated  by  his  own  choice  when  be  was  quite 
young,  and  that  bis  subsequent  pursuits  were  not  fa- 
vorable to  mental  cultivation,  we  marvel  at  the  extent 
of  his  attainments,  and  recognize  in  bis  manner  and 
style  of  composition  the  evidence  of  no  ordinary  de- 
gree of  natural  ability. 

From  the  numerous  testimonials  of  resj)ect  to  his 
memory  in  our  possession,  we  make  but  a  single  ex- 
tract, and  that  from  an  obituary  in  the  "  Picayune  :  " 

"  Francis  Porter  was  a  man  of  many  fine  traits  of  character, 
one  of  which  was  eminently  distinctive — his  innate  sense  of 
what  constitutes  true  manly  honor.  "We  never  knew  a  man 
whose  instincts  were  more  unerring  in  the  detection  of  aught 
that  was  mean,  sordid  or  unworthy  in  the  characters  of  those 
with  whom  he  was  thrown  in  contact ;  and  he  was  never  so 
earnest  and  decided  in  the  expression  of  his  opinions,  as  he  was 
when  denouncing  or  satirizing  such  traits.  At  the  same  time 
he  was  one  of  the  most  affectionate  and  attachable  of  friends  and 
companions.  His  perceptions  were  quick,  and  his  impulses  gen- 
erous and  noble.  His  temperament  was  of  a  character  that,  added 
to  disappointments  and  private  griefs,  '  with  which  the  stranger 
intermeddleth  not,'  occasionally  clouded  his  mind  with  fits  of 
morbid  gloominess  and  abstraction.  But  the  general  course  of 
his  life,  like  the  predominant  tone  in  his  character,  was  manly, 
consistent  and  innocent ;  and  now, 

'  After  life's  fitful  fever,  he  sleeps  well.' " 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  265 

By  Frank's  death  William  was  thoroughly  deso- 
lated. Tlie  attacks  of  gout  for  the  rest  of  his  life  were 
frequent  and  severe,  with  little  Or  no  alleviation,  from 
Sydney  Smith's  idea  that  it  must  have  taken  five  or 
six  generations  of  gentlemen  to  have  given  it  such 
frightful  vigor.  It  sometimes  took  French  leave  of 
him  for  months  together,  when  he  would  resume  his 
old  desk  with  something  of  revived  interest.  But  the 
main-spring  was  gone,  and  he  soon  returned  to  the 
solitude  of  his  home  in  Bleecker  Street ;  or  taking  his 
trout-rod,  solaced  his  weary  spirits  with  an  occasional 
easy  drive  out  of  the  city.  His  benignant  smile  con- 
tinued unaltered,  and  those  who  casually  met  him 
during  the  year  succeeding  his  last  bereavement  could 
not  have  suspected  from  his  manner  that  he  had  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  about  done  with  life.  It  was 
fame  enough  for  him  that  the  life-scheme  which 
swelled  in  his  heart  the  morning  he  left  in  the  mail- 
stage  for  Andover,  was  already  a  fixed  fact  among  the 
things  of  Time.  The  seed  had  been  good  and  honest, 
and  was  planted  by  his  own  hand,  when  his  tears  and 
some  brave  hopes  were  about  all  he  had  to  help  to 
moisten  and  quicken  it  into  life.  He  had  waited  long 
and  patiently  for  its  first  small,  humble  shoot  to  strike 
through  the  hard,  unyielding  clod  into  the  air  and 
light,  and  had  had  the  full  satisfaction  of  seeing  it  ex- 
pand by  his  own  bounteous  and  lavish  culture,  until 
its  spreading  branches  sparkled  in  the  sunshine  of  a 
generous  and  loving  patronage,  its  roots  all  abroad  to 
resist  the  battling  of  a  century's  storms. 

The  "  Salutatory"  for  the  year  1856  has  a  flavor  of 
12 


266  LIFE   or   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK. 

the  humor  that  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  had  charmed 
and  cheered  the  readers  of  the  "  Spirit."  But  from 
the  day  of  the  "  Doctor's  "  death,  he  was  unlike  his 
former  self;  even  his  interest  in  the  "  Old  Spirit"  was 
much  diminished.  Up  to  this  time  no  intimation  had 
fallen  from  him  that  he  could  be  induced  to  sever  his 
connection  with  it ;  yet  most  unexpectedly  to  his 
friends,  on  the  26th  of  September  he  permitted  his 
name  to  be  associated  in  the  publication  of  another 
weekly  Sporting  Journal,  called  "  Porter's  Spirit  of 
the  Times."  Old  friencs  and  old  corresj^ondents  ral- 
lied round  him,  and  the  enterprise  started  with  flying 
colors ;  its  success  was  unprecedented  in  the  annals 
of  the  newspaper  press,  for  as  early  as  the  eighth 
number  it  was  "  backed  by  a  circulation  of  40,000 
copies  "  !  To  what  extent  Mr.  Porter  contributed  to 
the  literary  portion  of  the  paper,  the  writer  will  not 
assume  the  province  of  determining ;  the  probability  is, 
that  he  did  not  compose  any  elaborate  articles,  except 
those  to  which  his  initials  or  other  sure  signs  of  pa- 
ternity are  attached.  Care,  disapj) ointment,  and  that 
sickness  of  heart  which  he  concealed  from  the  world, 
began  to  tell  on  face  and  form  and  mental  activity, 
and  he  availed  himself  of  a  stipulated  privilege  to 
spare  himself  much  of  the  labor  that  even  to  a  recent 
day  had  been  his  delight  and  pride.  The  last  articles 
which  he  furnished  of  any  great  consequence  were 
obituary  notices  of  his  old  and  respected  friends  John 
C.  Stevens,  Esq.,  of  'New  Jersey,  and  Colonel  Wade 
Hampton,  of  South  Carolina;  and  they  bear  the 
stani])  of  that  keen  analysis  and  generous  appreciation 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    POKTEK.  267 

of  cliaracter  wliicli  marked  liis  numerous  essays  in 
tliat  difficult  form  of  composition.  It  has  been  stated, 
and  no  doubt  correctly,  that  just  before  his  death  he 
was  engaged  in  an  elaborate  biography  of  the  late 
William  Henry  Herbert,  whose  untimely  end  was  a 
source  of  universal  and  painful  sorrow. 

Mr.  Porter  passed  most  of  the  last  winter  of  his 
life  at  home,  with  books  for  companions  when  not  re- 
ceiving the  kind  attention  of  his  friends.  His  thoughts 
and  conversation  were  often  occupied  with  those  di- 
vine truths  wdiich  were  stamped  upon  his  soul  in 
childhood  at  the  knee  of  his  mother  : 

"  Shadowy  recollections, 
Which,  be  they  what  they  may. 
Are  yet  a  master-light  of  all  our  seeing ; 
Uphold  us,  cherish,  and  have  power  to  make 
Our  noisy  years  seem  moments  in  the  being 
Of  the  Eternal  Silence  ;  truths  that  wake 

To  perish  never ; 
Which  neither  bitterness  nor  mad  endeavor, 

Nor  man  nor  boy. 
Nor  all  that  is  at  enmity  with  joy, 
Can  utterly  abolish  or  destroy  !  " 

For  two  months  before  his  death  he  had  been  un- 
usually well  and  cheerful.  On  the  night  of  Tuesday, 
July  13th,  by  imprudently  leaving  open  a  window  in 
his  sleeping-room,  he  took  a  severe  cold,  which  result- 
ed in  congestion  of  the  lungs,  and  terminated  his 
earthly  career  at  half  after  nine  on  the  morning  of  the 
following  Monday.  He  was  from  the  first  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  it  was  his  last  illness,  and  with  clear 
mind  and  firm  serenity  expressed  his  satisfaction  that 


268  LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

the  end  was  near  at  hand.  The  same  urbanity,  gentle 
patience,  and  thoughtfulness  for  others  which  marked 
his  whole  previous  life,  were  equally  conspicuous  dur- 
ing these  last  days  of  mortal  suffering.  Just  before 
the  closing  moment  he  requested  to  have  the  curtain 
of  a  w^indow  near  his  bed  raised,  that  he  might  once 
more  see  the  light  of  day.  "  How  beautiful ! "  he  fer- 
vently murmured,  as  the  sun  broke  into  the  room  ; 
and  as  if  he  at  that  moment  caught  sight  of  the  blue 
hills  of  Newbury,  and  the  white  paling  of  the  cottage 
where  he  was  born,  or  heard  the  far  away  toll  of  the 
village  bell,  which  brought  back  to  his  fading  memory 
the  objects  which  surrounded  his  boyhood,  he  breathed 
the  names  of  mother  and  father  and  brothers,  adding 
with  a  last  effort,  "  I  want  to  go  home,"  just  as  the 
veil  which  separates  the  things  of  Time  from  the  In- 
finite Unseen,  parted  to  admit  him,  as  we  fondly  be- 
lieve, to  their  embrace. 

The  intelligence  of  his  death  spread  with  electric 
rapidity  throughout  the  land,  and  the  melancholy  re- 
sponse of  the  universal  newspaper  press  told  how 
sincere  was  the  grief  felt  at  the  loss  of  one  of  its  dis- 
tinguished ornaments.  Tlie  funeral  ceremonies  took 
place  at  St.  Thomas'  Church,  in  the  presence  of  a  large 
audience  of  sympathizing  friends.  At  their  conclu- 
sion, the  lid  of  the  coflin,  which  rested  between  the 
reading-desk  and  the  pulpit,  was  opened,  and  such  of 
the  congregation  as  desired  to  take  a  last  view  of  his 
manly  features,  to  which  death  had  imparted  a  more 
than  earthly  beauty,  were  informed  that  they  might 
do  so.  The  whole  congregation  embraced  the  offer, 
and  passed  round  as  indicated. 


LIFE   OF    WILLIAM   T.    PORTER.  269 

A  generous  tribute  to  liis  memory  appeared  in  the 
"  Old  Spirit,"  from  the  pen  and  from  the  heart  of 
that  sterling  gentleman,  James  Oakes,  Esq.,  of  Bos- 
ton, who  over  the  signature  of  "  Acorn "  has  for  so 
many  years  contributed  to  the  value  of  its  columns  : 

"  For  more  than  twenty-five  years  have  William  T.  Porter  and 
myself  battled  our  way  on  the  banks  of  the  river  of  life,  as  it 
were  hand  in  hand,  but  in  diflfercnt  professions.  During  that 
time  I  have  never  known  him  to  wilfully  commit  an  unmanly, 
ungenerous,  unkind,  dishonorable  or  even  discourteous  act,  to 
his  fellow-man.  He,  it  is  true,  had  his  weaknesses,  but  they 
were  those  that  did  injustice  to  himself  only — no  wrong  to 
others.  It  was  his  nature  to  be  as  gentle  and  as  kind  as  a  child, 
and  so  made  up,  and  so  harmoniously  mingled  in  him  were  all 
those  rare  and  extraordinary  characteristics  which  go  to  make 
the  higli-toned,  high-bred  gentleman,  tliat  he  possessed  the  power 
to  fascinate  every  one  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  whether 
it  were  the  little  girl  whom  he  trotted  on  his  knee,  the  boy  with 
whom  he  played,  or  the  thoroughbred  sporting  gentleman.  His 
mind  was  comprehensive,  his  perception  keen,  his  deductions 
clear  and  concise ;  whilst  his  judgment  and  decisions  in  all 
sporting  matters  were  more  reliable  and  more  respected  than 
any  other  man's  in  this  country.  He  was  the  father  of  a  school 
of  American  sporting  literature,  which  is  no  less  a  credit  to  his 
name  than  it  is  an  honor  to  the  land  that  gave  him  birth.  Many 
of  his  decisions  and  sporting  reports  will  be  quoted  as  authority 
for  generations  to  come.  He  possessed  a  fund  of  sporting  statis- 
tics unequalled  by  any  other  man  in  America.  While  living,  he 
was  respected  and  beloved  by  every  one,  no  less  for  his  child- 
like simplicity  of  nature,  than  for  those  high  and  manly  charac- 
teristics which  so  strongly  marked  him  as  a  journalist.  His 
death  will  be  deeply  and  sincerely  mourned  by  every  person  who 
knew  him.     With  much  truth  can  it  be  said  : 

'  'Thou  art  the  ruin  of  the  noblest  man 
That  ever  lived  in  the  tide  of  times.' ' 


270  LIFE   OF    "WILLIAM   T.    PORTEE. 

George  "Wilkes,  Esq.,  associate  editor  of  "  Porter's 
Spirit  of  tlie  Times,"  furnished  for  that  paper  a 
tribute  to  his  memory,  from  which  we  make  the  fol- 
lowing extract : 

"  Loftiest  among  them  all — with  a  gentleness  and  grace  that 
so  mingled  man  and  woman  in  his  nature  that  his  own  sex  might 
love  him  even  to  tenderness,  and  not  feel  ashamed — William 
PoRTEE  moved  among  the  Livingstons,  Hamptons,  Stevenses, 
Stocktons,  Joneses,  Waddells,  Longs,  &c.,  making  all  happy  by 
his  cheerful  spirit,  and  distributing  favor  by  his  presence,  rather 
than  receiving  patronage.  The  merit  of  bis  paper,  and  the  bigh 
character  of  these  voluntary  associations,  not  only  drew  around 
him  the  most  distinguished  writers  and  correspondents  of  the 
time,  both  at  home  and  from  foreign  lands,  but  brought  out  a 
new  class  of  writers,  and  created  a  style  which  may  be  denomi- 
nated an  American  literature — not  the  august,  stale,  didactic, 
pompous,  bloodless  method  of  tlie  magazine  pages  of  that  day ; 
but  a  fresb,  crisp,  vigorous,  elastic,  grapliic  literature,  full  of 
force,  readiness,  actuality  and  point,  which  has  walked  up  to 
the  telegraph,  and  hardly  been  invigorated  or  improved  by  even 
the  terse  and  emphatic  lightning.  This  literature  was  not  stewed 
in  the  closet,  or  fretted  out  at  some  pale  pensioned  laborer's  desk, 
but  sparkled  from  the  cheerful  leisure  of  the  easy  scholar — 
poured  in  from  the  emulous  officer  in  the  barracks,  or  at  sea — 
emanated  spontaneously  from  the  jocund  poet — and  flowed  from 
every  mead,  or  lake,  or  mountain — in  the  land  where  the  rifle  or 
the  rod  was  known.  Of  this  literature,  which  is  better  known 
as  '  American  Sporting  Literature,'  Mr.  Poetee  may  be  said  to 
be  the  founder  and  the  head  ;  and  for  its  creation  and  thousands 
of  happy  hours  the  people  of  the  United  States  owe  him  as  great 
a  debt  of  gratitude  as  they  do  for  that  stimulation  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  breed  of  horses,  which  has  made  us  already  fore- 
most of  all  the  world  in  the  production  of  the  most  valuable 
species  of  working  and  pleasure  stock. 

"  The  life  of  Mr.  Poetek,  for  the  thirty  years  which  termi- 


LIFE    OF    WILLIAM   T.    POKTER.  271 

nated  with  his  management  of  this  paper,  was  not  marked  by 
any  striking  incidents.  His  life  flowed  equahly  from  day  to  day ; 
and  year  by  year  parted  company  with  him,  without  taking  on 
its  record  a  single  quarrel  or  scarcely  a  ruffled  feeling  against 
any  being  in  the  world. 

"  He  was  peculiarly  qualified  to  be  endeared  to  every  thing 
that  came  within  his  presence  ;  and  his  kind  nature  was  so  justly 
balanced  and  so  free  from  all  invidious  inclination,  that,  by  com- 
mon consent,  he  was  received  throughout  the  coimtry  as  the 
umpire  of  all  controverted  points,  not  only  in  matters  growing 
out  of  the  specialities  of  his  paper,  but  in  all  questions  of  friendly 
argument,  which  would  not  take  parties  into  court.  During  his 
editorial  career,  he  has  probably  decided  more  disputes,  involving 
the  award  of  money,  than  any  judge  who  ever  sat  upon  a  bench  ; 
and  what  is  most  remarkable  in  this  connection  is,  that  his  de- 
cisions were  always  clieerfuUy  acquiesced  in,  and  never  were 
made  the  subject  of  appeal.  To  use  the  language  of  a  contem- 
porary :  '  He  seemed  to  live  without  an  enemy  ;  and  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  he  was  probably  the  best  known  of  any  man  in 
New  York  who  had  never  filled  an  official  place ! '  " 

In  the  same  paper  appeared  these  stanzas  by  R. 
S.  Chilton,  Esq.,  of  Washington,  which  were  repub- 
lished in  the  "  Knickerbocker  "  of  February  last : 

IN    MEMORY   OF  WILLIAM    T.    PORTER. 

A  heart  where  kindly  words  and  deeds 

The  founts  were  still  unsealing, 
Whence  flowed,  unchecked  through  all  their  course, 

The  streams  of  generous  feeling  ; 
A  kind,  true  heart,  that  with  the  joys, 

Could  share  the  griefs  of  others  ; 
And  ne'er  forsook  the  grand  old  faith 

That  all  mankind  are  brothers. 


272  LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    PORTER. 

A  soul  iu  which  the  manlier  traits, 

And  gentler,  were  so  blended. 
That  none  could  say  where  these  began,  • 

Or  where  the  others  ended  : 
Alas  !  to  fitly  speak  his  worth 

All  words  seem  poor  and  common. 
In  whose  large  spirit  Nature  fused 

The  tenderness  of  Woman  ! 

Enough !  his  heart  has  ceased  to  beat ; 

His  soul  has  passed  the  portal 
That  shuts  the  other  world  from  this, 

And  what  remains  is  mortal. 
But  long  as  brave  and  gentle  hearts 

Are  held  in  memory's  keeping, 
Our  fond  and  sorrowing  thoughts  will  haunt 

The  grave  M'liere  he  is  sleeping. 

R.  S.  C. 

Similar  testimonials  from  all  parts  of  the  Union 
are  before  us.  Tlie  "  London  Times  "  appropriately 
noticed  his  death,  and  referred  to  him  as  "  a  man 
known  world-wide."  These  we  lay  aside  for  our  pri- 
vate gratification,  with  the  conviction  that  "  this  post- 
humous esteem  reached  no  higher  attitude,"  to  use  the 
words  of  a  contemporary  editor,  "  than  that  which 
was  felt  and  uttered  for  the  living  man." 

In  bringing  this  volume  to  a  close,  we  take  the 
highest  satisfaction  in  the  reflection  that  the  design 
of  compiling  a  Memoir  of  William  T.  Porter  did  not 
originate  in  an  exaggerated  estimate  of  his  genial  and 
beneficent  nature,  of  his  magical  power  to  attract  and 
secure  the  warmest  affection  of  all  who  were  brought 
within  its  influence,  of  that  rare  combination  of  child- 
like confidence  and  sagacious  self-reliance  in  his  in- 


LIFE   OF   WILLIAM   T.    TOKTER.  273 

terconrso  with  tlie  world,  or  of  that  large-lieartedness 
which  made  him,  perhaps,  too  much  given  to  hospi- 
tality, a  failing  so  near  akin  to  a  Christian  virtue  ;  by 
neither  of  these  considerations  were  we  stirred,  but 
ratlier  by  an  admiration  of  that  indomitable  energy 
which  enabled  him  to  carry  out  from  its  first  and  dis- 
couraging inception  to  a  successful  issue,  the  fixed, 
definite,  precise,  great  idea  of  his  youth,  the  introduc- 
tion and  advancement  of  a  fresh,  original  and  capti- 
vating department  of  letters,  and  by  the  conviction 
that  his  editorial  progress  illustrated  a  truth  which 
there  is  a  tendency  in  youth  to  disregard,  that  vague 
and  loose  application  will  be  barren  of  fruitful  results, 
while  courage  and  constancy  are  but  equivalents  to 
success  and  fame. 

"  Who  is  the  happy  warrior  ?  who  is  he, 
That  every  man  in  arms  should  wish  to  be  ? 
It  is  the  generous  spirit  who,  when  brought 
Among  the  tasks  of  real  life,  hath  wrought 
Upon  the  plan  that  pleased  his  boyish  thought : 
Whose  high  endeavors  are  an  inward  light 
That  makes  the  path  before  him  always  bright : 
Who,  with  a  natural  instinct  to  discern 
What  knowledge  can  perform,  is  diligent  to  learn !  " 

So  long  as  a  love  of  recreation  is  recognized  as 
"  one  of  the  features  impressed  on  man's  spirit  by  the 
Divine  Creator,"  so  long  we  venture  tg  believe  the 
name  of  William  T.  Porter  will  live. 


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